Doomsday
by candysteffi
Summary: When your life is suddenly falling apart and everything you've ever known is threatened by an act of God, you'll be able to distinguish your true friends from the rest.   In dark times a small group of people – from different places and statuses – wil
1. Chapter 1A

Doomsday

**Author**: Steffi

**Couples**: All (M M K&T, A&I)

**Rating**: Mature

**Summary**: When your life is suddenly falling apart and everything you've ever known is threatened by an act of God, you'll be able to distinguish your true friends from the rest.

In dark times a small group of people – from different places and statuses – will find their way together to face the inevitable.

**Disclaimer**: Sadly, I don't own anything.

**Author****'****s****Note**: I might borrowed one or two ideas from the movies "**2012**" and "**Deep****Impact**". ;)

Author's Note 2: Thanks to my wonderful beta **Angel**. ;)

**Chapter 1 - 01.01.2012**

**Chapter 1A**

**- Arizona – Mount Graham International Observatory – 0:05 - **

A wide yawn, combined with a growling stomach disturbed the absolute quiet in the observation room of Mount Graham's International Observatory. The room was only lit by several monitors, all of them showing a different section of stars from the clear night.

"Happy New Year, my friend." Melody Davis smiled encouragingly when she entered the room and held up two fresh-made coffees. "I brought our drinks to celebrate."

The only man in the room took off his glasses and threw them on a paper he had been working on before he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Just what I need, thanks." He took one of the disposable cups from his co-worker. "Oh, and happy New Year's to you, too. Yay," he said without the slightest bit of excitement in his voice.

Melody smirked and took her seat next to him again, hammering a few keys on the keyboard to make her routine checks before she leaned back in her seat again. "Why do we have to work on New Years Eve again? Oh right, because our boss is a real son of a bitch."

The other man shrugged. "Didn't have anything better to do anyway."

"Yeah," she snorted, "because you don't have a life, man. You work like 24/7 and it's not like we've found anything exciting the last month. But ME, I had a date for tonight. An actual cute, sexy, hot and very exciting date."

"What, you don't enjoy my company?" he asked playfully hurt.

"You're not my type."

He made a face. "You're not mine either." Okay that was a lie. Melody was pretty much everyone's type even if she was 35 – ten years older than him.

"Don't you have any family that's throwing a party or something? I mean, there has to be at least someone."

"Not in this state," he shrugged. "My family lives in Washington."

"Friends?"

"As you pointed out correctly, I work pretty much."

Melody sighed. "You're way too young for that, my friend."

"You're ten years older and still unmarried, single and no kids." He grinned. "So I think I have a lot of time compared to you."

"Oh, shut up," she laughed and smacked him with a small folder she took from her desk. "And if I hadn't had to work tonight I would probably be on my way to change things."

"Like last time, huh?" He snorted into his coffee when he saw her expression and some drops of coffee splashed into his face. _At__least__he__hadn__'__t__been__wearing__his__glasses,_ he thought and wiped them off.

"That was just bad luck," she smirked when he gave her an eye roll. "Hey, I didn't know he was a callboy when I met him in the supermarket."

"Um-hmm," the man shook his head and placed the half-empty coffee on the desk next to the keyboard before he got up. He straightened his jeans and walked over to the reason he had agreed to do this job far away from friends and family… one of the world's biggest telescopes.

Melody knew that meant his mind had gone back to work and she shook her head in amusement before she turned back to her computer as well. _So__much__for__a__New__Years__mood_, she thought.

They worked in silence for the next 30 minutes, saying little more than a few words dedicated to different coordinates and names of comets and meteors only they would know. He had always been fascinated by the stars. At the age of seven he had gotten his first mini telescope from his parents and ever since then he had used one every single clear night in his life. The choice of his career had been the easiest decision in his life and thanks to parents with some influence he had gotten the job he had wanted since the first time he had seen the moon in more detail than his eyes could see.

"You're awful silent," she stated when he hadn't said anything. "I still need the new coordinates, ya know. I can't hear what you think."

"Yeah…" he said, his voice sounded like he was lost in thoughts. After a moment he pulled his head away from the telescope and rubbed his eyes before he turned to look at his co-worker with a frown. "Can you give me the recordings of the last coordinates from last year same time on the big screen?" He pointed at the monitor behind him.

"Sure," Melody turned back to her computer. Quiet sounds of fast fingernails on a keyboard were heard and a moment later a small cut-out of the huge universe was on the big screen, showing just a few dozen stars. "What're you on to?" Her hair flew around her face when she looked at him again.

He just held his hand up to let her know he would tell her soon, while he looked back into the telescope and then on the screen again. "Who are you?" he muttered to himself.

"You're making it very thrilling. See a New Years rocket?" she joked.

He pushed a few buttons on the machine in front of him before he walked back to his desk without commenting on her last sentence. A moment later a picture appeared on his monitor and he looked at it again, his heartbeat rising with every passing second while his thoughts ran fast and crazy.

"What do you see?" She stood up and walked behind him to look at the picture he was staring at. She couldn't really see anything.

He leaned forward and pushed a button so the cut-out of the sky would appear on the big screen, directly next to the one from last year.

Melody turned around and looked at both pictures for several moments, but still she couldn't see what he was obviously seeing. "What…"

"On the right," her co-worker got out of his seat quickly and walked over, stretching up and standing on tiptoes to point at an object on the newest sky photograph. Then he moved two steps to the side and pointed at the older picture.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that the slight red dot on the newer picture was missing in the former one. "How can…" she frowned. "That's too big for not being there last year."

"I know," he nodded and walked back to the telescope in the middle of the room. "Search the database of former photographs and find out when we first caught it with the telescope, while I get the exact coordinates.

She nodded and started her search immediately. Seconds and minutes passed with little more than the sound of pressed keys, nervous coughs and loud breaths together with an almost unbearable tension. It took nearly 30 more minutes before they looked up again at almost the same time.

"Got it," he said and went back to his computer, sitting down and wiping his forehead with a nervous gesture. "Any luck yet."

"Yeah…" she said slowly when she checked on it again. "I think it came into view in 03-03-2010." She pointed at her screen. "See Jupiter here, it's right behind, you can just see it if ya know about it."

He took his glasses from the desk and leaned over to look at her monitor. "You're right," he nodded. "Send this all to our baby. Together with the coordinates we should be able to calculate its size, speed and direction." Their 'baby' was the new efficient computer in the room next to the one they were in.

"Done," she said after a minute. "How long will it take to get the first results?"

"No clue," he said honestly and grabbed his coffee. "Damn thing better hurry." His palms were sweaty and he wiped one on his jeans before shifting the disposable cup to the other hand and repeating the gesture.

"Let's move to the other room," she got up and took her drink as well.

"Yeah," he followed her.

The room with the computer was small and didn't have a window. After a few minutes he could already feel the temperature rising a few degrees and he pulled on the collar of his shirt. _Or__was__it__just__his__blood?_

Almost 90 minutes passed while they tried to make conservation about banal things, but the tension was undeniable and both of them knew that the result could change nothing or everything in their lives. The beeping made them both straighten up as if it was the alarm clock and you were sure you had overslept.

They both stared at the screen in front of them while the computer started to give out the first results of the things it had calculated.

He could feel the sweat on his forehead breaking out, while his heart hammered in his chest as if it was just going to burst in a few seconds. His hands grabbed the backrest of the chair in front of him tightly, trying to hold onto something when his knees got weak and wobbly.

"Oh my God," Melody whispered and reached out to grab a handful of his shirt.

He wasn't able to say anything in that moment and kept staring at the computer in front of him. His view became blurry while he tried to come up with a logical explanation why the computer was wrong, but there was nothing to set against it. From afar he heard a voice, something was pulling on his clothes…

"We need to report this," Melody kept telling him again and again while her hand was still fisting his shirt.

He nodded absentmindedly and went to the phone at the other end of the small room. Without taking his eyes from the screen he fumbled for the earpiece. When it almost fell to the ground he snapped out of his daze and tried to remember the number he had read so often but never used. _Come__on,__think__about__it_, he forced himself and his fingers started to move over the buttons.

"You have the right number?" His co-worker asked when he just held the phone up to his ear.

He didn't answer her when he heard a female voice on the other end of the line. "Defense department of the United States, Stacy Delany. What can I do for you?"

He cleared his throat, trying to remember what the protocol was in this very unlikely case. "Code LTMOC."

The voice on the other end went silent for a moment before he heard a slight cough. "One moment, Sir."

The line went silent for what felt like hours before he heard some crackling. "Ed Harding here."

He straightened up when the Secretary of Defense of the United States spoke to him. There were other sounds in the background, revealing that he had just disturbed the man at a New Years party.

"Hello, Sir. This is Alex Whitman calling from the Mount Graham International Observatory in Arizona."

"Well, Happy New Year, Mr. Whitman. I hope you have a good reason to call me at this time."

"Would an object five times larger than Mars heading in our direction and able to annihilate mankind be a good reason?"


	2. Chapter 1B

Chapter 1B

Boston – Residence of the Secretary of Defense – 3:15

"Send the details to my office, Mr. Whitman. I'll get back to you from there." Ed Harding ended the call and stared up at the clear sky for a moment. His hand came up to run through his short hair while he tried to assimilate the information he had just gotten. It didn't feel right and it as sure as hell didn't feel real in that moment.

"Everything okay?" his daughter asked when she walked out into the garden, which was lit only by the lamps from the pool. Her long blonde hair bounced over her shoulders when she ran towards him. The muffled music from inside could be heard as well as cheerful laughter and rattling glasses, along with the clacking sounds her pumps made on the flagstones.

"Yeah, just… work," he said, forcing his expression to be neutral.

"Ungh," she made a face, "but we have a New Year's party." She placed her small hand on his arm and smirked at him. "Politics can wait a few more hours."

He smiled gently at his daughter and kissed her forehead. "I'm afraid not this time. I need to go back to my office. Happy New Year, Tess."

"Is that really necessary, Dad?" she complained. "One day you're gonna die of a heart attack if you don't minimize the stress," she teased and hugged him.

_Maybe__it__won__'__t__even__come__to__that_, he thought but refused to believe it. "I've gotta go. You keep an eye on the guests, will ya?" he asked his only daughter and zipped the parka she was wearing further up to protect her from the cold wind.

She rolled her eyes. "Mom will do that. I'm on a different mission," she pointed at the other end of the garden, where a dark figure sat in one of the deckchairs all alone. The light from the pool danced over her slightly when the water moved.

He nodded and let go of her to find his wife. She wouldn't be excited about his sudden departure, but he had a feeling that he would be in Washington before dawn.

Tess watched her Dad disappear into the house again. He looked good in his suit as usual, but his shoulders were slumped, his body language showing that something wasn't right. She shrugged it off after a few moments when she remembered why she had walked outside originally. "Told you New Years Eve parties at our house are boring and suck."

The other girl looked up and snorted. "Are you kidding? Expensive food, champagne for free and a live band, what do you want more girl?" She quickly wiped her face, but it was a useless thing to do. "Oh alright, I forgot you're of a higher class than us ordinary mortals."

"Shut up," Tess said, amused. "I wanted to go to a college party, remember? Keg, people dancing on tables and making dirty jokes over our asses," she mused. "That would have been fun."

"Oh yeah. Especially when someone pukes on your shoes."

"Better that than a party with most of the people twice as old as we are."

"Not little Mr. D."

Tess rolled her eyes. "People who are my brothers and went to bed even before midnight do not count." She sat down on the deck chair, shoving her friend's leg with hers to make her move over. "Move over."

"What's up with your Dad?"

"Work call again. Seemed to be important, but I don't know. He seemed a bit off and he's leaving soon."

"To Washington?"

"To his office in town for now, but you never know in the end."

"I'll never understand why your parents won't move to Washington DC. Your father's there more than he's home."

Tess sighed. "Dad loves Boston. He's stubborn." She shivered slightly when the wind blew through her hair.

"Uh-huh, must run in the family."

"What're you doin' out here all alone, DeLuca? It's freakin' cold," she pulled her jacket closer around herself. It was pretty warm for a night in January, but still too cold to sit at the pool during night.

"Just had too much champagne and needed to cool my brain from it."

Tess glanced at her friend and reached over to lift the cell, which she held in her hand over her stomach, slightly. She smiled sadly when it was all too clear what she had really been doing. "Tried to call him?"

Maria didn't look at her and stared at her cell instead. "Yeah," she croaked out and let it sink against her belly again.

"Any luck?" _Damn_, _she__already__knew__the__answer_.

The other girl shook her head. "Why do I even try anymore?" she asked bitterly. "He never picks up the phone."

"Don't say that," Tess said and grabbed her friend's cold hand, tracing her own fingers over it to warm it up a bit. "It could happen."

Maybe, but it felt different. "All I want is to hear his voice for a moment," Maria said after swallowing a lump in her throat, but her voice was still thick from crying. She pulled her legs closer to her body to wrap her arms around them. Her long flat blonde hair fell into her face and tangled up with her eyelashes, making her blink several times.

"Oh M," her friend hugged her tightly and felt a single tear slip down her cheek as well. She had seen her that way a lot during the last months and it broker her heart that she couldn't help. "You know he's probably on some secret mission where he's not allowed to contact anyone." Tess used one hand to brush the other girl's hair back, making Maria look at her.

"It hurts to not know anything. Not where he is, how he is, when he'll be back home." She clenched her hand around her cell and looked at it. "I'm even afraid to leave the phone outta view in case he calls me and I miss it."

Tess had never had a boyfriend who she had cared about as much as Maria cared about Michael. It had to be tough though, to not know where the one you loved was at the moment. "You want me to ask my Dad if he can tell you anything?"

"You know he won't." They had tried before to get something out of him, but maybe he didn't even know. Michael belonged to some Special Forces unit in the US Army. She didn't even know the name, nor if his unit actually had one. For normal human beings guys like him didn't exist. His job didn't exist.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Probably not." Tess leaned her head against her friend's. "I am sorry. I wish I could do something to make you feel better, M."

"It helps that you're here," the other girl said quietly and finally returned the hug. They had been friends since childhood, long before Tess' family had become interesting to the public. They grew up together like siblings and her mother Amy had just followed her heart and moved from Boston to Roswell two years ago, because she had known the Harding's would always be like a second family to her daughter.

"Am I interrupting?" someone asked from behind, the voice unsure.

Maria smiled without turning around. "No, come on. Your timing couldn't be more perfect for a group hug."

Tess made a face. "You know how totally uncool that sounds, don't ya, DeLuca?" She looked up to meet the new girl's eyes. "C'mon, Parker. We're just doin' this for her because she's down and needs loooooove."

Liz smiled and went to her friends, crawling up on the same deckchair to sandwich Maria, before they all wrapped their arms around each other. "Happy New Year," Tess shouted out into the cold night.

The little bundle of girls looked up into the sky when sounds of exploring rockets and firecrackers could be heard. Wiggling around they got comfortable on the huge deck chair, poking their feet under the blanket Maria had taken out with her earlier while they watched the exploding lights above them.

"Isn't it already too late for this?" the brunette asked.

"Our neighbor's always late," Tess said dryly. "Bet he passed out before midnight and just woke up again."

Maria snorted at the thought and kept watching the sky. "Makes a good show for us."

Liz glanced at her friend in the middle, recognizing the traces of shed tears on her cheeks when a new rocket exploded over them and lit up her face in red. She met Tess' eyes from the other side, knowing she was just as worried about Maria as her. "When did you hear last from him?"

"Middle of November," Maria answered after a while, when she had realized the question was directed to her. "He called me and it lasted like one minute or so." She felt new tears when she remembered it. "He sounded so distant and distracted." Her shoulders sank at the thoughts. "Maybe I am reading too much into this, but I'm really scared since that call. I don't know why." Her whole body tensed up when the cell in her hand buzzed once. _Was__it__a__message__from__him?_

"Don'tcha wanna look at it?" the other blonde asked when her friend just stared at her hand without moving.

"Yeah…" She turned the cell in her hand and pushed a few buttons, her heartbeat felt like a jackhammer in her throat against the turtle neck pullover she was wearing. There was always a split feeling about a possible message from him. On the one hand she was really looking forward to hearing from him, but on the other hand there was the scary thought that he might finally end things between them. Two times they had seen each other last year, and none of his visits had lasted more than a few days. But she wasn't willing to let go of him.

"Mom says Happy New Year," she finally said after opening the message. "Greetings from Roswell." Maria lifted her head to look at her friend on the right, while her arm came up around Liz on the other side. Her eyes shimmered with tears in the moonlight and it made Tess' heart sink deeper and deeper with the realization of how hurt she was. "You know I had really hoped he would be home for Christmas. But there was nothing. Not even a call or a letter."

"I…." Tess' mouth opened and closed a few times, but there wasn't anything useful she could say. "Sorry, I doubt I can say anything to make you feel better."

"Yeah," Liz agreed after a moment and laid her head against Maria's side. "But we're here for you."

"Uh-huh," Tess said. It was time to lighten up the mood again. "And where have you been for the past few minutes, E? I don't think I've seen you for more than an hour."

Liz' smirked slightly to herself, her stomach making a weird flip flop when she thought about it. "I was inside," she said.

"Couldn't be that you were using my laptop again to talk to your cyber-gigolo?"

"He's not a cyber-gigolo," Liz protested. "And fine, if ya wanna know, yes I did, because the party's pretty boring."

Tess glared at her. "And so are you. Really E…."

"Why're you calling me …." Liz looked at Maria. "Why is she always calling me E?"

"Because your name is Elisabeth, isn't it?" Tess rolled her eyes.

"But everyone calls me Liz."

"Well, L would sound stupid."

"Ahhh," Liz groaned in frustration when her friend deliberately misunderstood her.

"Anyway, what do you want with a man who you can't even touch when there are a few decent looking guys here." She pointed at the house.

"Can't see you with one of them either," the other girl shrugged coolly.

"Just because they're all crawling up my Dad's ass. And that stinks", she laughed at the unintentional double meaning. "Ungh, okay, that wasn't meant literally, so anyway… E, please!"

"What?"

Tess groaned. "Get a real thing."

"Just leave her alone, T," Maria interrupted. Sometimes it could get really dramatic when the two of them got it on about something.

"That doesn't sound cool when you say it," Tess noticed.

"You don't understand," Liz shook her head while she picked at her long pullover. Well, she didn't understand it exactly either. She hadn't met the guy in person yet, but something about him just fascinated her.

"I do understand that it can be fun to flirt with someone you don't know, but I get the feeling you're reading a bit too much into this, chica," Tess sat up to look at her fully.

"Look, you started this with him like a month ago, right?"

"We got paired up for an online final," Liz nodded. She was taking online classes at the university of Washington since other circumstances in her life didn't allow her to actually study over there.

"Did you guys at least talk on the phone yet?"

Liz shook her head.

"You got a pic of him?"

Another negation.

"Does he want to meet you?"

Maria could see that her friend was feeling trapped, but Tess had a point. If that weird internet guy of Liz' was really interested, then he should finally make a real move on her.

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it yet." She had dared to ask him once if he could send her a pic, but he had gotten out of it with some lame excuse.

"So let's sum this up. You've known him for a month, but you don't know how he looks, you've never heard his voice, AND you don't even know if the guy wants to meet you for real. So he's either a psycho or totally ugly. I bet you don't even know his real name."

"Of course she knows his name," Maria interrupted, looking at Liz. "You do, right?"

The other girl blushed. "Um… I just know his nickname from MSN."

"See," Tess said, groaning.

"I think I'm going inside again," Liz wrapped her arms around herself when she got up.

"Hey," Maria tried. "You know Tess means all of this in the nicest possible way. She's just our crazy friend and we have to accept her."

Liz smiled slightly. "I know. You coming inside too?"

"Yeah, just give me a few minutes to pull myself together, okay?"

Liz nodded and turned to walk back into the house while her brain went over and over the things the other girls had said. _Was__she__right?__Was__she__reading__too__much__into__this__and__the__guy__on__the__other__end__was__really__just__some__sick__man?_

"You shouldn't be so hard on her," Maria said when the brunette was gone.

"But you know it's true."

"Probably. But we're her friends and you know what's going on in her life. Go after her and make sure she's okay and won't worry her brain too much."

"You should take your own advice, DeLuca." Tess pointed at the cell with a lifted eyebrow.

"Maybe…" Maria shrugged. "Now go! I'll be right behind you."

"Sure," Tess leaned over and kissed her friend's cheek. The skin under her lips felt ice cold. "Get inside soon. Ya know we can still drown all the pain with lots and lots of tequila. Maybe then I can bear those flashy dudes in there."

Maria laughed. "I'll probably revisit this." She watched the other girl returning back to the house before she looked back at the cell in her hand. Her fingers started to hurt from the cold outside and she moved them a few times to warm them up.

The display illuminated when she accidently pushed a button and a picture of Michael during a little barbecue party appeared, which soon came to life in a little video clip. His voice was heard when he laughed at something she had said. "C'mon, M. Turn that thing off."

She bit her trembling lips while she watched him on the little screen. "Where are you?" The words were drowned by the sound of another exploding firecracker. Her thumb danced over the touch screen to punch in a short text message, well aware of the fact that he would probably never get it since his cell was always turned off.

_Happy New Year. I love you. M. _


	3. Chapter 1C

Chapter 1C

Dur Baba - Afghanistan – Temporary Military Camp of the US Army – 1:30 pm (4:00 am EST)

The jeep came to a rough stop on the loose, rocky ground beneath the tires. Dust covered the lower ground and just disappeared slowly while the heavy doors of the armoured vehicle were opened.

"Everybody out," the deep voice of Sergeant Humphrey could be heard over the noise of several arriving trucks.

The men in the jeep climbed out one by one, hopping down on the rubble. The dirt under their boots crunched when they walked away to find their next destination.

"Man, I thought we would never arrive," one of them said, his face pale from the long detouring drive through Afghanistan's lonely mountains, which was necessary to hide their tracks.

"Shut up, Delany. You're a pussy," Kyle Valenti laughed and accepted the huge backpack someone offered him. He checked the little silver dog tag hanging from it and nodded when he was sure he had the right one.

Wind picked up and swirled up the dry sand and dirt, making the whole place look like a deserted town in the middle of nowhere. Though it was winter and the temperatures were cool, there hadn't been any snow or rain yet. "If there is something I am not gonna miss, it's the dirt in my crack all time," he cursed and wiped his face when the gust was over.

Another man snorted at his comment and accepted his own backpack with a nod from the older guy. "I sure as hell won't miss one damn thing in this country." They had been here for over five months now and there was nothing to remember besides bleak, lonely mountains and lots, lots, and lots of sand. Well, and some other things that were locked up in a place in his brain where nobody would get in. He placed his pack on the ground in front of him and opened it carefully but also with a slight gesture of haste.

"Can't even wait until the airport, Guerin?" Valenti teased as he watched his friend. They still had to survive another few hour drive over the frontier of Pakistan on their long way back home.

"Shut up," Michael snorted while he pushed his sunglasses up on his head to have a better look at the personal things that were all set up in this pack - stuff he hadn't been able to see or use for a very long time now. His hand finally came into contact with his private cell phone and he pulled it out carefully.

"You have hope that the battery's still working after all these months?"

He grinned and shoved his hand into his pants pocket, revealing another battery, which he exchanged with the one in the cell. "I'm smart, Valenti. Should know that since I saved your ass last week."

"Now you'll always hold that against me, won't you?" the other man complained, remembering the scene his unit member was talking about. A week ago they had still been hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan, trying to figure out the location of one of the most wanted Taliban commanders. It had been night when a few fighters had located them and if Michael hadn't had reacted quickly at the time they would both be dead and buried by now. _Well__maybe__not__buried._

"Guerin, would you mind getting your ugly ass in the damn Hummer?" the commander of their Special Forces unit said angrily.

"I'm gonna be so happy to get away from him…" Michael muttered and looked at Kyle while he shouldered his backpack. "See you at the airport." They shook hands and slapped each others backs with a silent nod before each of them walked into different directions to get into the vehicles that would take them to their next destination.

Michael threw his stuff into the Hummer first before he lifted his leg up to enter the vehicle. He stopped in his tracks when a hand came to rest on his shoulder with a firm but not forcible grip. Slowly he turned around again and came face to face with Commander Sullivan. "You guys were successful last week," he started and focused on the other man's eyes. "Make sure you enjoy your break at home, it's been a while." A break could always mean a bad thing too and he knew it. Especially young men, they tended to focus on the things they had done when they finally had the time to think about it. A few of them never came back after an operation like this.

"We'll be back," Michael said, knowing what the commander was thinking.

The other man nodded. "I know." With that they moved on and Sullivan threw the door closed behind one of his best soldiers.

"Finally getting home, huh?" the driver and only other person in the Hummer said and glanced at the man next to him when the tires started to roll again, making loud crunching sounds. They were driving to the airport in small groups and taking different routes to reduce the losses in case of an attack.

Michael just nodded, not interested in any small talk with a guy he barely knew. He rested his head against the cool window on his side of the vehicle. His lids were heavy after only a short time, but he forced his eyes to stay open. There would be enough time to sleep once they had made it to the airport and onto the plane.

"Welcome to Pakistan," the driver of the Hummer said excitedly when they passed the frontier.

Michael's eyes snapped open and a quick check of his internal clock told him that he had lost the battle against sleep about an hour ago. _Damn_. Time without sleep had just been too long by now.

_Pakistan_, so they had finally escaped the country, which he was glad not to see again anytime soon. They were on a break and this time it would be more than just a few days – the commander had promised them two full months. He shifted slightly in his seat to reach into his pants pocket and got his cell out. With a quick move he turned it on and pinched in the pin he would never forget. Now that they had reached a different country they were allowed to use private things again and his hands almost shook a bit at the thought of it.

"You've got someone waiting for you at home?" the driver asked.

"Don't think that's any of your business, man," Michael grumbled in response. He wasn't about to share anything with a stranger.

"I've got a wife at home," the other guy went on, ignoring the dismissal. "She had our baby last month." He stretched his arm out and flapped the sun protection on the passenger's side down to reveal a photo of a woman and a baby. "My little baby girl," the guy said proudly and tapped on it with his index finger.

Michael glanced at the picture, tempted to keep ignoring him, but he at least managed to force congratulations out.

"I haven't even seen our daughter yet. Just know her from the photo."

"That's tough I guess." _Would__he__ever__be__a__Dad?_Michael wondered. _How__could__he?__His__own__child__would__think__he__was__a__stranger__during__the__rare__times__he__spent__at__home._There had been many times he had thought about the future and where his life would lead. _Was__he__ever__going__to__have__a__family?_

"I wouldn't change my decision though," Mr. Talkative went on when they stopped at a place where the street became very narrow and awful. He geared down and slowly moved on, the Hummer shaking with each hole they went through. "Those two are the only reasons why I don't go totally crazy down here. Without them, there wouldn't be any reason to move on, ya know? To make it to the next break and go home."

Michael nodded without even realizing it. He knew that feeling all too well - to be honest it was the same with Maria. How many times had he considered just breaking up? He knew she was suffering more from their relationship than that she was getting anything out of it and it made him sick inside. A lot of times he had tried to convince himself that their relationship still made sense, that they could still be happy. But when it came down to reality, he knew there was only one selfish reason why he wasn't able to do the only sensible thing and break up.

She was his incentive to move on, the closest thing to home he ever had known. Giving her up would mean giving up the only good thing in his life up and without her it wouldn't really matter if he experienced the next day.

His thoughts were interrupted when the cell in his hand started to buzz. He looked down at it, stunned as his heart hammered against the tight military uniform he was wearing when he saw her name on the display.

He knew she would send him messages now and then and she knew he would most likely never get them. Although it surprised him to actually have a sign of life from her before he had the chance to see her. _What__if__she__was__breaking__up__with__him?__Telling__him__that__she__couldn__'__t__go__on__like__this?_

"Don't ya wanna open it up?" the driver asked when he noticed that Michael was just staring at the screen.

"You always stick your nose in other people's business?" he replied with an angry growl and finally pushed the button to read what she had to say.

_Happy New Year. I love you. M. _

He almost sighed in relief when realization came and he could be sure that there was no bad news locked up. _Her__message__was__only__a__while__ago_, he thought and his heartbeat rose at that knowledge. _Was__she__still__up?_

Carefully, as if a message written too fast would say the wrong thing, he pushed the buttons on his cell to reply to her.

_M, I'm coming home._

For a short moment he thought about adding more, but then he just pushed the send button. He would tell her all these things in person as soon as he was at her door. Deliberately he hadn't given her an exact time, because he didn't know it. Their flight times were top secret until last minute and it wouldn't be a direct connection to Boston, so it could still take a few days.

Satisfied, he pushed the cell back in his pants, almost expecting with anticipation that it would buzz again. If she was still up, she would send another message, he was sure of it.

"I hate these streets," the other guy complained when he had to do another shift to escape the biggest gaps in the street. "We're driving a Hummer, you'd think that'd make it kinda easy, but this just isn't normal."

Michael grabbed the grasp over the door on his side when the vehicle shook badly again. The tires made a spinning sound on the ground, but at least they were still moving slowly. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a slight flash that was gone before you could even really see it. He turned his head and gazed to the mountains on the left of them, where the little blinking had been coming from.

His whole body tensed up when his eyes focused on an object in the air, that was flying directly towards him. "Fuck." He knew what it was, he knew where it was going, but there was no time to react.

In a matter of a blink there was an explosion and the Hummer flew up in the air, twisted and turned a few times before it crashed back to the ground again – top first. Fire broke out followed by smaller explosions and a lot of smoke.

Michael coughed weakly when he came around again, not knowing how much time had passed between the attack and now. His lungs hurt with each little breath he took, but he forced himself to continue. While his senses were not cooperating, his trained mind was already running over the options he had. _I__need__to__get__out_, he thought and tried to move, but couldn't. _Was__it__because__of__the__car__or__was__something__wrong__with__his__body?_

His eyes opened and closed a few times, but the view was just blurry and it felt like looking through a black tunnel with a bit of light at the end. _Was__this__how__death__came_? he wondered and tried to move his lips. Maybe the guy next to him was still alive and could help. Only then he realized the shrill ringing sound in his ears from the explosion, making it impossible to hear anything else.

Again he tried to move, but it didn't work. The little bit of blurry light he was seeing when his eyes were open was getting darker with every new breath and he knew this wasn't a good sign. He was passing out again, leaving his body uncontested to the enemies who had attacked them.


	4. Chapter 1D

Chapter 1D

Boston – Parker Apartment – 4:45 am

Liz fumbled around her bag in search of her keys, while she held two letters from the mailbox between her teeth_. Where the hell are you?_ she thought, frustrated when she didn't find what she was looking for.

With a frown she let go of her bag and brushed her hands over her jacket, sighing when she suddenly felt something hard in one of the pockets. She pulled the keys out and unlocked the heavy door, shoving it open with her foot to slip inside.

The corridor of the apartment felt warm compared to the low temperatures outside. She didn't bother to switch the light on, knowing every angle of these four walls since she had grown up here. Her feet hurt like crazy from the ridiculous high pumps Tess had loaned her for the New Years party. She kicked the right one off, continuing the same act with the left when she stumbled over her own feet. "Fuck," she muttered when she almost lost her balance, making the letters fall to the ground. Again Liz tried to get rid of the other shoe, using the help of both of her hands when it just wouldn't slip off. "Come on," her voice could be heard in the dark hallway, followed by a shattering sound when one of her hands reached out to steady herself on the dresser but had found the vase on it instead.

Wincing at the loud sound, she sighed and finally decided it was better to switch the light on before she could hurt her now finally bare feet on the broken fragments. _Mom's gonna kill me,_ she thought when she realized it had been the huge white vase, which her mother loved so much. "Maybe there's something to save," she muttered to herself and crouched down to pick up the shards. Thank God, it only broke in three pieces, so maybe she could glue it again.

After cleaning up the mess, she walked through the hallway on her tiptoes, feeling just a bit ridiculous after the noise she had made. Her hand wrapped around the doorknob of her mother's bedroom and she opened the door quietly to glance inside. "Did I wake you up?" she asked in a whisper when she saw the figure in the bed shifting when a bit of light fell into the room.

Lucy Parker squeezed her eyes against the light from the hallway. "Are you drunk?"

"What? No!" The girl walked further into the room, leaving the door open just with a small gap. "I just lost balance when I tried to get these damn shoes off."

Her mother chuckled, knowing that Liz wasn't a person who drank much or acted unreasonable or irresponsible. "I was up before, so don't worry."

"Are you feeling okay?" Liz frowned and crawled up on the empty side of the bed, leaning in to kiss her mother's cheek. "Happy New Year, Mom."

"Happy New Year to you too." Lucy smiled at her, wondering when she had gotten to be such a beautiful woman. "I'm okay, the noise from the street kept me up."

"Okay," Liz nodded in relief, thankful that her mother's condition hadn't gotten worse lately.

"So tell me about all the cute guys who got their heads turned by you tonight."

The young woman snorted. "Oh please, Mom," she got more comfortable on the bed, resting her back against the headboard. "You know there are just bloats at Tess' party. They think they are all something better with all the money they have and the cars they drive."

"They can't be all that bad."

"Huh-uh, they are Mom, believe me! One of 'em asked me to go to Paris with him… like immediately tonight. There is no one who really wants to get to know you, it's just all about fashion and looks."

Lucy chuckled. "And what does Tess say to this?" The girls were as different as they could be, but somehow they got along and managed to keep their friendship alive.

"You know her, she puts it off. But the fact that she hasn't has a boyfriend for a long time now just shows that she thinks the same. I think she's pretty fed up with the upper class she's living in as well."

"What about Maria? I haven't seen her in a while." Lucy turned to grab the glass of water from her nightstand, taking a small sip when her mouth felt too dry.

"She's pretty down at the moment. Tess and I try to make her feel better, but it's getting harder. Michael hasn't contacted her since November and it's bothering her a lot."

"I cam imagine," her mother nodded sympathetically.

Liz looked out the window for a moment in silence. "Sometimes I really wonder if she shouldn't finally end this, ya know? But I'm scared to suggest it because I know she would hate me for saying it." She looked back at her mother. "It's just…. She is hurting the whole year and there are maybe 5 happy days for them and 360 bad. What's the point in staying together like this?"

"It's something only they can answer, Lizzie. If you really honestly love each other, you don't give the other one up and visa versa. "

"Would you have stayed with Dad this way?" she whispered. "I mean, with different circumstances and all…"

"No doubt," Lucy nodded and smiled sadly and the memory of her dead husband. "I couldn't have given your father up, no matter what."

Liz stayed silent and just nodded, trying to imagine how it would be to miss the man you love more than you really can be with him.

"One day some pretty boy will get in there," Lucy pointed at her daughter's heart with a smirk. "And then you will know what I mean."

She hadn't been in love. Never. Maybe her expectations were just too high or maybe the circumstances in her life hadn't let her yet. Either way, she was longing for someone who cared enough to stay despite the circumstances she was living in. Her mind immediately flashed to HIM - the nameless man she had been talking to for quite a while now. Was it stupid to see something in a person she hadn't even met before? _Oh yeah,_ she thought bitterly, _it was stupid just like Tess had said._

Lucy's eyes were slowly falling closed every now and then and Liz leaned in to kiss her cheek again. "Good night, Mom." She crawled off of the bed again and walked out of the room as quietly as possible to go to her own four walls.

She crossed in darkness and just switched on the small lamp on her nightstand. It took almost two seconds until the old thing managed to illuminate the small room. "What a mess," she mumbled when she saw how she had left it earlier this evening. Clothes were spread all over the bed and floor and makeup was spilled on the carpet in front of the huge mirror on the wall. With a quick move she managed to grab most of the clothes on the bed and instead of putting them back in the closet like normal she just threw them to the floor.

Her laptop was suddenly exposed when the dresses were gone and she frowned when she saw it was still turned on. _Must have forgotten it earlier,_ she thought and was about to shut it down when she saw the small blinking envelope in the right corner of the display. She couldn't help the small twist her stomach made when she opened the message up and read it.

**E-X-A-M**: Hey party-girl, got home safe?

She leaned over the bed slightly without sitting down and typed in a quick message as well.

**BostonGirl**: Just got back home. Still in one piece.

Liz turned to her desk again and pulled the zipper of her dress down to step out of it, throwing it over the backrest of the chair in front of it. She reached for her night shirt on the floor and pulled it over her head. The soft fabric fell over her upper body and ended high on her slim thighs. _He's probably already in bed by now_, she thought when he didn't reply immediately and went to the small bathroom, which was connected to hers and her mother's room.

She came back to her room after brushing her teeth and getting rid of the makeup on her face. Her feet still hurt from the shoes and there were even tiny red spots on her toes – _I am never gonna wear those high heels again_, she swore to herself.

With a loud sigh she fell on her bed, glad for the soft mattress under her. It had been a long night full of drinks, loud music and drama. Okay, it hadn't been too bad in the end, but she would never tell Tess… she would get an ego-boost out of it and then she would hear the I-told-you-so hymn for at least a week.

A quiet bubbling sound announced a new arriving message and she turned her laptop towards her in surprise.

**E-X-A-M**: WOW, must have been a helluva party if ya still up by now.

**BostonGirl**: I wish. Main reason I stayed so long was because of my friend's sad mood.

**E-X-A-M**: The one with the boyfriend who's never there?

**BostonGirl**: Yep. Oh, Happy New Year, by the way. ;)

**E-X-A-M**: Lol, thanks. But we did say that before…. Remember? When you were on your phone, complaining about rich people and some jerk who invited you to Paris. *snort*

**BostonGirl**: OH, right! Sorry, I totally forgot about it was already after midnight. How was your party?

**E-X-A-M**: As boring as expected. There is really nothing to mention… soooo not worth one word.

**BostonGirl**: Ah come on, there must have been at least a few ok-people to hang out with?

**E-X-A-M**: Not really.

_Why did he always avoid talking about stuff he had done?_ she wondered. He knew so much about her… her friends… her family situation… but she knew absolutely nothing about him. Tess' words came back to her mind and she bit her lip while she considered what to write next.

**E-X-A-M**: You must be tired, huh? You should sleep, Liz.

**BostonGirl**: Can I ask you something?

She had to find out more about him, either that or he really was a psycho like Tess had suggested.

His answer took longer than normal, but it came before she could write something else.

**E-X-A-M**: Sure.

**BostonGirl**: What's your real name?

Nothing.

**BostonGirl**: I mean, you know mine so it's only fair that you tell me yours, right?

**E-X-A-M**: William.

**E-X-A-M**: Stupid, huh?

**BostonGirl**: It's not stupid!

**BostonGirl**: Just a bit old fashioned. LOL

**E-X-A-M**: Well, thanks!

**BostonGirl**: Ah, come on! … Can I call you Willi?

**E-X-A-M**: :O

Liz giggled slightly. Okay well the name was not really modern, but who cared? At least now she had a name.

**BostonGirl**: I'll call you just W. Tess likes to call people by their first initial, so I'm gonna do that with you now.

**E-X-A-M**: Thought you didn't agree with the way she addresses people, ;), L.

**BostonGirl**: Alright, back to Willi then.

**E-X-A-M**: *sigh*

Liz thought about asking him some other private thing, but what? His profile page said he lived in Washington and was 20.

**E-X-A-M**: I need to leave, sorry. Meet me tonight?

She frowned when he had to go all of a sudden. What could someone do at this time of the day? Hmm, well in case he really lived in Washington. Or he could live in a totally different time zone….

**BostonGirl**: Ok

**E-X-A-M**: Sorry.

**BostonGirl**: Nothing to be sorry about. Good night, Willi. ;)

**E-X-A-M**: Grrrr. Alright, ya know payback's a bitch! Good night for now, browny.

She rolled her eyes at the nickname he had given her after he had seen the picture of her with long brown hair that was online at the university hotline. _Another thing he knew more about her,_ she realized. While he had already seen a photo of her, she didn't even know the color of his hair or eyes.

Liz shut her laptop down and placed it aside before she got comfortable in her bed. She stretched her arm out as much as possible to reach the small lamp on her nightstand. With a small clicking sound the light was switched off, leaving her and her thoughts in complete darkness.


	5. Chapter 1E

**Chapter 1E**

**Washington DC – Evans Residence – 5:30 am**

Isabel giggled when she opened the door to the house where her family lived. She poked her head inside and glanced around the hallway to make sure no one was up. When everything seemed quiet, she turned around to meet the eyes of her date from the night. "Guess it's time to say goodbye, I need my beauty sleep." Her hand trailed over the strong chest of the man in front of her.

"Good night, Isabel," he replied, his eyes following her movement.

"Will I see you later?" she asked, amused.

He smirked back at her, showing off his little dimples on his normally hard and closed up face. "Hardly inevitable."

"I take that as a compliment," she breathed against his lips and slipped inside quickly, leaving the man on the other side of the door hot and cold.

Isabel smiled to herself and walked further into the house, the heels of her shoes striking the parquet floor and echoing along the walls as she walked through the hallway. With a slight effort of muscle power, she shoved the double doors open, not surprised to see her brother still sitting in the living room they both shared.

Max Evans looked up just after closing his lap top and met the sparkling eyes of his twin. "Isabel."

"Max," she lifted her eyebrows. "I see you've partied wildly all night."

"Did you enjoy your night of a …" he made quotation marks in the air, "wild party in that house?"

She rolled her eyes. "Better than hiding in a room to talk to a cyber friend who's probably a) a gay guy, b) a very lonely, very ugly woman or c)… Well I can't think of c right now, but I think a and b are weird enough." Isabel shook her head while she got rid of her high heels. "Max, when will you finally wake up? This chatting is going nowhere."

He got up and walked to the window, staring outside while his hands rested in his pants pockets. "Maybe when our father decides that I can have a life outside these walls."

"You sound like he's locked you up in here and you know that isn't true."

"No?" He looked at her. "Isabel we live in a damn prison."

"We do not" she denied.

He snorted. "Feels like it."

Isabel rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatic statement and his ever-growing hatred for his current life and the wish for more freedom. "Well, you think Dad would be willing to give you more freedom if he knew that you're sharing personal information to a stranger in a chatroom?"

"I'm not sharing personal information. Nothing important anyway," he ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the wall next to the window.

"Still, he'd flip out."

Max laughed and walked over to her. "You think he would be fine with the fact that you're flirting with Dan?"

"It's just harmless flirting," Isabel shrugged.

"I doubt he'd see it that way," he denied and hugged her. "Happy New Year, sis."

"Yeah, you too," she returned the hug.

"If Dad knew about you and Dan he'd fire him. You really wanna risk that man's job?"

"Unless you tell him, he won't know about it," she poked her finger into his chest. "And you won't tell him, because then I would tell him about your little cyber friend."

"Heartless," he shook his head, but smirked. "That's the only word I have for you."

"Thanks," she told him. "That's the image I was looking for. I've heard rumours in college that they call me the Ice Queen."

"Oh, I have no doubt that it's true," Max chuckled and grabbed his laptop from the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Leave that woman alone now," Isabel rolled her eyes. "Well, if she's a woman at all. That's it!"

"Shut up," he grumbled. "And just so you know, I'm heading to bed now."

"Uh-huh," she said skeptically while she started to walk in the direction of her bedroom.

"It's true, I…." Max sighed. "Ya know what, I don't care what you think, Ms. Ice Princess."

"Queen!" she corrected him.

"Whatever. Good night," he walked into the room and closed the door behind him, placing his laptop on his desk and staring down at it for a moment.

_Her questions are getting personal_, he thought. _Of course they're getting personal. You spend months talking about nonsense and you know a lot about her while she knows practically nothing about you. No wonder she's starting to worry. How much longer would she talk to him until she finally gave him the pass for not sharing anything with her? If she knew they had met before…._

_Max' head snapped up from the biology book he was reading when he heard the laugher. A laugh so refreshing and honest that it had should've caught everyone's attention and yet he seemed to be the only one who noticed it. _

_His eyes searched the cafeteria of the University of Washington, trying to pinpoint the person the voice belonged to._

_Liz Parker laughed at something her friend on the other end of the cell had said. "Maria, you are insane, ya know?" She shook her head in amusement and continued on her way to the counter where the food was set up for lunch. _

"_Where are you going?" one of the men sitting next to Max said when he got up from his seat after locating the girl with the sexy laugh. Her smile was even more beautiful he had decided. _

"_Just getting a drink," he told him carelessly and quickly left, heading in the direction of the girl with the long brown hair. He had no clue what he was going to say or do. He stopped right behind her, considering what to do when she suddenly offered him the perfect moment. _

_Liz put her cell back after Maria had hung up. She opened her bag to push it inside when her arm accidently swept over the counter and swiped a stack of napkins, knocking them to the floor. "Damn," she muttered to herself and bent down, only to accidently bump her ass into the person behind her. Quickly she whirled around to mumble off an apology when she recognized who she had bumped into. Her eyes widened and the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat._

His head lifted to the cabinet over his desk and he stared into his own eyes that were reflected in the glass door. His face looked darker than normal, probably because he hadn't shaved in three days. A small grin appeared on his lips when he thought about the pissed off face of his father when he had appeared with that look at the New Years party. The meeting with Liz that day had been short, but from that point on his life had changed and he suddenly wanted more out of it.

A few days later he had found her profile at a community site of the university and they had started to talk day and night. He had learned that she only had been in Washington DC for an exam and that she was taking online classes most of the time because her mother was sick and needed a lot of help. She had a tough life but she was still trying to make the best of it and enjoyed every minute of it. He admired her way of thinking, her brave attitude and the sense of humor she had. The only problem was that she didn't know who he was...

The grumbling of his stomach brought him back to the present. He hadn't eaten anything at the party so he decided that now was the best time to take a look at the refrigerator. Miss Murray had probably already put all the leftovers safely away and at this time he could eat in peace and without company.

He left his room barefooted again and walked down the corridor of the building to the main kitchen, switching on the light above the counter in the middle of the room. A slow grin escaped when he opened the large double door refrigerator and his eyes roamed over the various kinds of food and cake in it.

After taking a few moments to decide what to eat, he pulled the chocolate butter-crème cake out and placed it on the island at the center of the kitchen. He walked around it to get a fork out of the drawer after opening four different ones.

"Four people use this kitchen, but we've got silverware for four hundred," he muttered to himself and slipped onto one of the barstools in front of his cake. Liz would just love to see that he was one of the rich snobs she tried to avoid.

"Grumbling about your unfair life again?" Philip Evans asked when he entered the kitchen, fully dressed in a suit.

_So much for eating in comfortable silence_, Max thought bitterly. "What're you doin' up already?" he asked, happily ignoring his father's question.

"Work," he explained shortly. "I have a meeting in my office in a few minutes."

Max swallowed down his piece of cake while watching his Dad. "On New Years? This early in the morning?"

His father walked to the cabinet and got a glass out, filling it with water from the refrigerator. He took a sip of it and looked at his son. "Some things in the world don't care about what time it is."

The younger man had to control he urge to roll his eyes at that and stared at his cake wordlessly while his father moved around the kitchen a few minutes longer.

Philip looked at his quiet son before he left it again – heading down the long half-dark corridor to his office. He pushed the heavy door open and walked inside. "Good morning, Ed," he greeted the Secretary of Defense, who had just arrived at his residence.

"Philip," the other man nodded at his boss and friend and stood up to shake his hand.

Two other tall, silent men in suits stood against the wall next to the door, hands crossed in front of their bodies while they kept their eyes straight ahead. Philip Evans took a seat at the head of the table and waved his hand. "Leave us alone."

One of the men nodded and opened the door to go out. "Yes Sir, Mr. President."


	6. Chapter 1F

Chapter 1F

Washington DC – The White House – 8:00 am

Philip Evans looked down at the small file his truest friend and right-hand man Ed Harding had handed over to him a while ago while they waited for the other men to arrive.

He glanced up when Richard Mason, Vice President of the United States coughed nervously for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few minutes. The grey-haired man tugged on the collar of the suit he was wearing and straightened when he noticed the glances he was getting. "I really think you should tell me the news already."

Philip and Ed exchanged a short glance. "We'll start in a few minutes, Mr. Vice President," Ed said and listened up when the little speaker in the middle of the large table in the Oval Office crackled and a female voice was to be heard. "Mr. Cole and Mr. Blair have arrived, Sir."

Philip reached over the table and pushed a button. "Tell them to come in." He leaned back in his comfortable leather swivel chair again and kicked the leg with his foot just enough to make it turn a bit until he was able to look out of the window behind him. _It would still take a few moments before the men got there,_ he thought and prepared for his speech, that would probably change all their lives. "Is everything ready with the connection to Arizona?"

"Sure. Mr. Whitman and Ms. Davis awaiting our call," Ed nodded.

"Good," Philip said and stood up when the door was opened by one of the secret service agents. "Your guests, Mr. President."

"Thanks," he nodded and walked over, surprised to see not only George Cole, the Joint Chief of Staff and the National Security Advisor Charles Blair, but also the head of NASA Greg Shepherd.

"Mr. Shepherd, I thought you weren't available within the next few hours."

The man chuckled deeply and squeezed his hand with a tight grip. "You know work finds me everywhere, Mr. President."

"George," Philip nodded to greet the Chief of Staff, before he made an inviting gesture to Mr. Blair.

"The NSA, the Secretary of Defense and the head of NASA," Mason frowned while he shook the other men's hands. "Now I'm getting a bit nervous here."

The door was closed and within seconds an uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Philips Evans walked back to take his seat at the head of the table, glancing around at a few of the most important and influential men in his country. "First off, Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for squeezing in the time. I know today is New Years Day and most of us had different plans, but sometimes things just can't wait."

"This better be a hell of a good reason," Cole said and rubbed his eyes tiredly. His plans had definitely been different and more pleasant as well.

The president looked at Ed. "Mr. Harding will tell us the reason why you are here now." He nodded at his friend and leaned back slightly.

A phone ringing could be heard and almost everyone at the table checked the inner pocket of their suit coat immediately. Charles Blair finally pulled his cell out and turned the ringer off with a slight touch of nervousness in his moves. "Sorry," he smiled almost embarrassed. "What can I say? My wife was not pleased about my sudden departure."

A few understanding chuckles went through the room while Ed got out of his chair to walk over to the window. He waited another few moments to make sure he had their undivided attention, his gaze slipping over the still dark sky outside. "At 3:15 this morning I got a call from Alex Whitman," he started.

"Whitman," Shepherd muttered to himself and then looked up when he noticed the other men's gazes. "His name sounds familiar."

Mr. Harding smiled. "It should, Greg. He's one of your employees. His father was involved with the last Mars expedition." His gaze wandered over the others again as he explained. "Alex Whitman works at Mount Graham International Observatory in Arizona." He walked over to the table again, placing both of his hands on it. "Around midnight, he and his co-worker detected an object in outer space and," he took a deep breath and checked on the president quickly before continuing. "Based on what we know now, it's a potential threat."

Silence filled the room for seconds – but felt like hours. The tension and discomfort of everyone was palpable. Blair couldn't help but think it would be possible to hear a pin drop at that very moment. "How potential is that threat?" he asked.

"We have good reason to think the asteroid will hit earth," Philip said before Ed could answer. He motioned for his friend to sit down again and leaned on the table, his lower arms taking most of his weight. "There is very little information right now, but we will have Mr. Whitman and Ms. Davis on the screen for a video conference." His index finger pressed a button on the phone again. "We're ready for the live circuit to Arizona."

"Okay Sir," the female voice crackled again and a moment later there was a clicking in the line and the TV monitor at the other end of the table came to life. It flickered a few times before suddenly a poor quality video of two people sitting in what seemed like a sterile room appeared.

Alex and Melody could be seen as they talked to each other. Their bodies straightened when they realized the video conference was starting.

"Mr. Whitman, Ms. Davis," the president started. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Mr. President," Alex greeted back with a slight nod, his nervousness easily notable by his body language.

"Hello, Mr. President," Melody nodded as well.

"Well, the morning could definitely be better," Philip said, but tried to smile politely. He was tired and unprepared for something like this as the first news of a new year, but he knew that being professional was the only option. "I would like to introduce you to the men around here. Mr. Harding the secretary of Defense," he started, pointing to his left.

"Hello Sir," Alex said.

"Vice President Richard Mason, Mr. Blair from the NSA, Joint Chief of Staff Mr. Cole," Philip continued in line, while everyone murmured their greeting. "And you probably know Mr. Shepherd from NASA."

"Of course," the younger man smiled. "Sir, I wish we were meeting for the first time under better circumstances."

Greg just nodded dumbly and lifted a hand in greeting. He didn't know much about the boy, but from what he had heard he excelled at the work he did.

Melody was sitting next to Alex in silence, watching the scene more than participating in it. She was glad her co-worker had agreed to take the lead because she really was too nervous.

"Mr. Whitman, please give us some insight into the information we currently have about the asteroid," the president said politely, but his voice made it clear it was an order.

The man on the screen looked down at the paper he was holding. "It's too early to have reliable and accurate information at this point, but our first calculations show the asteroid is now somewhere between Mars and Jupiter." He looked back into the camera. "Maybe 300. Million miles from earth."

"What about its mass, size, density?" Shepherd interrupted.

"We think right now the asteroid is bigger than Mars, but it could be that its density is meager. Big tail, maybe hard core though."

"Direction?" his boss pressed, living up his reputation as the most impatient person.

"According to the computer right now we have an 80 percent chance percent that it will cross the earth's orbit."

Again there was silence while everyone let the news sink in. "How good are the chances that this thing will change direction?" Cole asked with a frown.

"Right now it's pretty unpredictable, Sir," Alex explained. "Whenever we make a new calculation the dates change a bit. We don't know much about its structure yet. It will be influenced by passing other asteroids and planet's gravity. There is also a chance that it could get hit by something and split up or that its mass will decease fast." He sighed, wishing the information he was giving could be more exact.

"Could also go the other way," Shepherd said.

Alex nodded. "Sure, Sir! It's still on a long journey to earth. A lot of factors can affect its direction and size."

"So to sum it up, we don't know anything right now. Could be our end or not," Blair said dryly but everyone knew he was just trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation… and the defenselessness mankind could be facing.

"I'm sorry there isn't exact information right now, Sir."

"Can you give us a timeframe when the asteroid is possibly coming into Earth's orbit, Mr. Whitman?" the president asked.

"As with its direction, the speed can change as well, Sir. So being very speculative and giving it my best guess, I would say November this year to February next year."

"That soon?" Mason asked, enraged. "And we're just detecting this now?"

Alex coughed slightly and got a bit calmer when he saw the slight encouraging nod from Shepherd on the screen in front of him. "Outer space is big and even if we constantly watch, we are only able to observe a small percentage of it, Sir. From the way we see it, we should be happy to have found it ALREADY."

The other man snorted at that, but didn't respond anymore, while the rest of the people in the room fell silent for a moment as well.

"Okay, let's ask the most important question," Blair decided and stared at the screen with a serious face. "How bad will it be if the worst case happens and this thing hits us? What happens after?"

Shepherd bit his lip before he could laugh in the other man's face and left the speaking to the younger man in Arizona, who was just looking into the camera stunned.

Alex shook himself slightly and reminded himself that not everyone had the same knowledge about astronomy as he did. "If an asteroid of this size comes into our orbit, I don't think we have to worry about an AFTER anymore, Sir. It will literary destroy earth and every creature on it. We would just disappear." He didn't know how to explain it any better, but really, how would you explain the end of world anyway?

Blair looked at the screen with wide eyes and swallowed hard. His mouth dropped open when he wanted to say something, but there was nothing more than a grunt.

"We're talking about a global killer if an asteroid has a diameter larger than half a mile," Alex continued. "That's a 'could be' though. An asteroid as large as this," he gestured behind him to the latest image capture of outer space, "would definitely be the end."

"Chances are still good that it'll change direction or split up," Shepherd said, trying to take some of the tension out of the situation.

"That's true, Sir," Alex agreed. "Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll pass us or it'll just hit us with small meteorites that won't destroy everything."

Philip took the file of the young man on the screen in his hands and looked over it. "What would happen if we got hit by smaller asteroids, Mr. Whitman?"

"Depends on the size and the quantity, Mr. President," he started and picked at the shirt he was wearing. If it hits a continent, there would be a huge crater – maybe miles of total destruction and the blast would be gigantic. Dust clouds would shade the sky for months, maybe years, depending on the size. This would lead to something like a nuclear winter, dramatic climate change, and toxic rain to just enumerate a few long-term effects."

"And if it hits the ocean?" Blair asked, a bit hopeful. "I mean chances are pretty high, right?"

"That's true, but the effects would be just as huge. Instead of gigantic blasts we would have Tsunami's – hundreds of feet high. They would cause flooding beyond just the coastal regions."

"We're screwed, water or land," Mason muttered.

"It probably won't eliminate mankind," Alex guessed, "but the losses would be huge and life after wouldn't be the same. Volcanic activity could increase from the impacts as well."

The president stood up and walked over to his desk, placing the young man's file on it. "What can we do to prevent this, Mr. Whitman?"

Melody and Alex exchanged helpless looks before they returned their gazes to the screen again. "I'm not the right person to ask, Sir. Looking at it from the astronomical side, there isn't much we can do, but I'm not an expert in weapons and defense mechanisms." He looked at his boss. "I know NASA addressed this issue in former studies and tried to find solutions for cases like this, but I have no insight into the results, Sir."

Philip nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Whitman. I think that's all for now." He tapped his index finger against the file. "Just one more thing. I know you have no family in Arizona, so I'll send someone to pick you up so you can do further research from Washington DC."

Alex looked surprised. "With all due respect, Sir, I think the possibilities of research are much better here in Arizona. We have the most capable computer and…."

"And with all due respect to you, Mr. Whitman," the president interrupted just a bit amused, "I think you have no clue what our possibilities here are." He looked at the only woman in the conference. "Ms. Davis will provide you with all necessary information from the Observatory."

"Sure, Sir," he nodded, not pleased to leave his current place.

"Someone will contact you within the next hours, Mr. Whitman. Thank you for your time and I'm looking forward to meeting you in person."

"Thank you, Mr. President", Alex nodded and his chest swelled up a bit. "It'll be my honor to meet you."

"Goodbye, Ms. Davis," Philip raised his hand and a moment later the screen went black. He walked over to the oval table again and stared into the round of shocked and confused men. "I think we all need a little time now to let this sink in. I'll let you know soon about the next meeting, pointless to say that this information won't leave the room."

His gaze wandered over each of them. "Mr. Shepherd, we need insight in former studies NASA did about cases like this. Mr. Harding, I need a list of weapons specialists, and I mean every kind. Nuclear, rockets, bombs…. in prison or not. Get me the best."

Ed nodded. "Sure."

"Mr. Cole, we need the best geologists and astronomers. People who will be able to create different scenarios of what Mr. Whitman has just described."

"Understood."

"And Mr. Blair, I'm making it your job to keep this information secret. If something leaks to public, it's your task to make sure they think it's a lie. We don't need a panic."

"Alright."

Everyone was getting out of their seats, ready to leave the room with a heavy weight on their shoulders. "Ed, Richard. Would you two stay a moment longer?" Philip asked the two men while he said goodbye to the others and waited until they had left the room.

He walked back to the table and took a seat again, breathing in deeply to say what was on his mind when the phone cracked. "Mr. President, there's a call from Commander Sullivan in Afghanistan for you on the other line."

"Not yet," he said dismissingly.

"It sounds important," she didn't give up immediately.

Ed nodded while worry crept through his features. "Sullivan is the commander of Special Unit ASCT. He wouldn't call if it wasn't."

Philip sighed. "Alright, put him on the screen, Desiré."

"Of course, Sir," again there was a clicking and the screen twitched again, forming into even worse video than before.

Commander Sullivan could be seen, his forehead covered with deep folds. _He looks older than usual,_ Ed thought. "Commander Sullivan. Good morning."

"Mr. President, Mr. Harding," the man said with his deep voice, which was distorted through the line.

"What's the reason for your call?"

Sullivan looked at the little camera in front of him while he tried to ignore the noise outside. "One of our returning convoys came under attack around 5:00 am EST."

Ed sank deeper in his seat, his face getting pale. "Losses?"

"There were only two men in the hummer. We found the driver dead in the car."

"And the other?" the president asked with a frown when the commander just mentioned one man.

"He wasn't there when we arrived on scene, Mr. President."

"Do you think the man was able to get to a safe place?" the secretary asked hopefully.

"We don't know." Sullivan ran a hand through his hair. "We found a lot of blood and tracks of another vehicle at the site, so we have to consider the possibility that someone's taken our other man hostage, Sir."


	7. Chapter 1G

Chapter 1G

Dur Baba - Afghanistan – Temporary Military Camp of the US Army – 6:45 pm (9:15 am EST)

Sullivan rubbed his face tiredly while he stared into the camera in front of him. He could hear a car arriving outside, the gravel under the big tires cracked when it came to a stop. Doors were slammed and heavy boots were heard on the ground as they made their way towards the little shack he was sitting in.

"You can't go in there now," a deep male voice said outside.

"I don't care, I need to talk to the commander," another voice replied vigorously.

"Not yet. The commander is talking to someone…"

"I don't give a fuck about that, I…."

"Sorry, but you can't go in." Yelling and shoving was to be heard, but after a few moments the voices faded.

"Davis, Brody," Ed Harding read out loud and Sullivan forced his eyes back to the little screen in front of him, watching as the Secretary of Defense browsed through the file.

"He's the driver who died in the car," Sullivan explained. "He just became a father and hadn't even seen his kid."

"We will contact his family in a few hours," Ed said and wrote down a few notes about the contact persons from the file before closing it and opening the next one that Desiré had already collected after talking to Sullivan first.

His features fell and his face turned even paler when he recognized the name of the second solider involved. "Guerin, Michael."

"Do you know him?" Philip Evans asked his friend when he noticed the unusual reaction.

"He's the boyfriend of my daughter's best friend. She's registered as his contact person in case of injury or death."

"Good man," Sullivan added. "One of my best men out there."

Philip reached over and took the file out of Ed's hands to look at it on his own. "A lot of orders ," he noticed, going through the operations the boy had already been on in his still young life.

"Men like him risked their life more than once," Sullivan agreed, knowing what was coming next. He didn't want to hear it, wished it wasn't part of their mission down here.

The president glanced at Ed Harding with a serious look. "We don't tell Ms. DeLuca yet. We don't know if he's dead or injured, so for now we go with standard protocol. If we don't hear anything from him in the next eight weeks, he will be declared dead."

Sullivan swallowed hard, but kept his face straight. "I've got one willing man to…"

"No rescues," Philip looked into the camera, his glance left no room for contradictions. "He's on his own out there."

Ed bit his lip, knowing that he couldn't change the rules just because his family was kind of personally involved in this case.

"Those men have signed the conditions for this job." The president pointed at a paper in the file. "They know if something like this happens, nobody will come for them because for the world their unit doesn't even exist."

"I am just sending one man…" Sullivan tried.

"No, Commander," Philip denied. "We are not risking anyone. You and me, we both know how low the chances are Mr. Guerin is still alive and a rescue team would just mean more people we would lose."

"We also both know how much everyone is interested in saving him," Sullivan growled, "this has nothing to do with risking other people's lives."

"I can imagine your distress, Commander Sullivan," the president said calmly, "you are out with those men everyday and I am not saying that you have no right to feel the need to save him, but they all knew the rules before they came to this unit of their free will." Philip glanced back down at the file and browsed to the last page.

Sullivan snorted. "Of their free will, alright."

"You don't think so?" the president asked a bit surprised.

The commander stared into the camera in front of him with a hard expression, wondering if the man on the other end really believed this or if he was just playing games. "Most of my men are just here because the other option would have been prison and some people thought letting them rot in the boondocks would be a lot cheaper."

Ed made a sign to his friend at the other end of the table to stay calm. He knew Sullivan and his reactions to cases like this. Nevertheless he was the heart of their secret operation in Afghanistan and they all knew they needed him.

"Nobody but themselves are responsible for their criminal records," Philip said calmly.

Sullivan leaned closer to the camera, while his eyes kept staring into it. "I know the records of my soldiers as well, Sir, and with all due respect in my world defending yourself when your father beats the shit outta you doesn't count as bodily harm."

"Chris," Ed Harding addressed the other man by his first name. "I know Mr. Guerin and I have spent some time with him on a few occasions as well. He's a good boy and I agree that he was just raised by the wrong people in the wrong surroundings. If we could to anything about this situation, we would, but our personal involvement doesn't justify a divergence from our normal procedure."

The commander knew that everything said was correct and there was nothing he could say or do to change the decisions of people in the government. He leaned back again slightly and calmed his breathing. "I will keep you up to date in case we hear anything about Guerin." He ran his hand over his face again before he looked back into the camera. "I am praying we don't find a video of him on Al Jazeera or You Tube within the next few days."

Ed and the president exchanged a serious glance, knowing that the possibility existed. "Me too, Chris," the Secretary of Defense said honestly with a nod.

"What happened with Guerin?" Kyle rose to his feet again as soon at the door of the little shack opened and the commander stepped outside. He walked towards the older man with long determined strides.

"Valenti," Sullivan frowned at him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your way home?"

The younger man snorted. "Yeah, so should my friend. What happened?"

"Sorry Commander," another man approached them, who introduced himself as the driver of Kyle's hummer. "This man threatened me with a gun to drive him back, Sir," he said accusingly.

Sullivan ignored him and turned to Kyle. "His hummer was attacked. We don't know who it was, but it seems like he's been taken hostage."

"W-what?" The younger man took a step backwards. He had hoped that there was just a problem with the car or something when his friend had never arrived at the airport on time.

"Sir, I was attacked by this man," the other driver tried again, appealing to the commander's sense of justice.

"You are alive, aren't you?" Sullivan said and walked further away, knowing that the soldier's actions were just a reaction to Guerin going missing. He wouldn't have really hurt the other man.

"What are we doin' now`?" Kyle asked, keeping up with his commander's fast pace towards a hummer.

They stopped abruptly and looked at each other. "What do you think we're doin'?"

Kyle frowned while his brain tried to make sense of the situation. "You're leaving him on his own after everything he's done for you?"

"He didn't do those things for ME," Chris said. "He did that for his country." He began to walk again.

"Fine, but we know who attacked them," the other man followed him again, his voice furious and angry. "You know what they'll do to him if we don't go and find him."

Sullivan stopped a second time and stared at his soldier. "You know the conditions you all signed. I just talked to the president and the Secretary of Defense. There will be NO rescue, we can just hope he makes it back on his own." He could see the devastation on the boys' face, knowing he and Guerin had been friends already before they came to the unit. "I'm sorry, Private Valenti, and I don't like this either, but I can't do anything. Get the hell outta here like you were supposed to do."

Kyle stared after Sullivan when he went to his hummer again. No no no, this couldn't be true, not after all they had been through. "He was on his fuckin' way home," he called and kicked a stone angrily, which flew several meters and hit another solider on the leg.

"Hey, fuck you man, watch what you're doin'."

He just flipped him off and ripped his helmet off, running a hand over his short hair, that clung to his head from sweat. He couldn't leave, he WOULDN'T leave without Michael. The guy had saved his butt more than once and that included times when the army wasn't even an option for both of them.

"_Come on," twelve-year-old Michael hissed to his best friend and pulled him behind one of the shelves in 'Charly's place', a small shop in downtown Boston. _

"_What're you doin'?" Kyle whispered and crouched down next to him. _

_The other boy opened his jacket, which was definitely too thin for this time of year, slightly and showed off the few chocolate bars he had put inside without the knowledge of the shop's owner. _

_Originally they had just come in here to warm themselves up a bit, since the cold outside was getting worse with each day and there was no safe sheltered home for them. Their starvation had gotten the best of them though after seeing all the delicious candies and food lined up on the shelves and Michael couldn't resist any longer. _

"_Wow," Kyle whispered and glanced around the corner to make sure no one saw them. "I am so hungry." He smiled and ignored the pain on his lips when the small cut there was once again torn open from his movement. _

"_Let's get out," Michael said quietly and wrapped his arms around himself to hold the bars in place when they stood. _

_The boys walked towards the front door, trying to look casual but their excitement about the food forced their steps to be faster than usual. _

_Kyle was too focused on getting out undetected that he didn't see the man coming right out of another aisle. He stopped abruptly to avoid a collision, but it made Michael bump into him from behind. _

_Before they could think straight they found themselves out on the street again, running with lungs that hurt from the exertion as they tried to get away from the furious man following them. "Hold those little thieves," he had screamed. _

_During the collision in the shop, Michael had dropped one of the bars to the ground, revealing just in front of the owners eyes what they were about to do. _

"_My side hurts," Kyle said, holding his stomach and getting slower. He hadn't eaten all day and he felt weak, the side stitches were just a result from that. _

_It only took a few more seconds until his skinny arm was jerked by the owner of the shop. "Run Michael," he had coughed, his heart beating a mile a minute for running and the fear of being caught…_

_Instead of listening, his friend had returned. Shoving the man away from him with a hard push._

_In the end they had both ended up in the police station before each of them was given back to their parents and the next round of beatings._

His thoughts were torn back to the present when he heard the engine of the hummer being started. He realized that the commander was about to leave and he hurried to get in the way, so he had no chance but to stop again.

Sullivan sighed and opened the door slightly. "Get outta the way, Private."

The younger man walked around the car to look at the commander inside. "I know nobody cares if we get back or not because we have nobody waiting for us at home anyway. But this doesn't count for Guerin and I will be damned if I go back to Boston without him." His face was determined and he gripped the door so it couldn't be closed in front of his nose. "Let me look for him."

"Valenti, I can't officially send you out…"

"We can't leave him out there…" he shouted.

Sullivan raised his voice and started again. "I can't officially send you out, but I won't check on you to see WHERE you actually decide to spend your vacation…" he looked at the boy meaningfully.

Kyle nodded, understanding what the commander was trying to tell him.

"If you aren't back in time, I'll have you declared a deserter."

"If I'm not back by then you can declare us both dead, I think." He took a step backwards again, letting go off the door of the hummer.

Sullivan grabbed the handle to pull it closed, but hesitated a moment. "Don't contact the camp and leave without a radio. I can't send anyone out if you guys are in trouble, you know that right? You're on your own, Private."

"I know, Sir." Kyle saluted. "I'd rather die out there than live with the guilt of not even trying to save him."

The other man nodded and brought his outstretched hand to his head as well, showing his respect to the young man's brave and determined will to save his friend.


	8. Chapter 1H

Chapter 1H

Boston – Residence of the Secretary of Defense – 9:45 am

The sun was shining mercilessly on New Years Day, using every little gap between curtains, window shades and doorframes to shine into the room and illuminate it.

Maria blinked a few times before she opened her eyes fully. She made a face when her head hurt a bit as soon as she moved around in the bed. _Damn champagne,_ she thought. The alarm clock on the nightstand next to Tess' bed showed that was still way too early to be up on the morning after a New Years party. Her friend was still rolled up in her blankets, snoring softly while her hair was a mess.

_Snoring yeah, there was it again!_ Tess never believed it when she told her about the quiet odd sounds she made while sleeping.

Maria rolled over to the other side of the mattress, which she always occupied when she stayed at her friend's house, and grabbed her cell from the floor. _I am going to record your little sounds, Harding, so I have proof. _

She was about to hit the right buttons to get to the menu when she realized that she had gotten a text message while she was sleeping. _Stupid_, she thought when her heartbeat immediately fastened in hope it could be one from Michael. _I sent several New Years wishes to different friends from college last night, so it'll be one of them. _

Once the sender's name of the message appeared on her screen, she sat up straight and ignored the spinning in her head from that way too fast move. Maria stared down at the screen, holding the cell with both of her hands tightly, as if the slightest shake of it would make the message disappear. "Michael," she whispered slightly with a shaky voice and opened his text up.

_**M, I'm coming home.**_

"Ahh!" she suddenly squealed in a high-pitched tone and jumped out of the bed.

"What the…" Tess shot up, confused as she looked around in irritation. "M'ria?... M?" It took a few seconds to locate her friend next to her bed. "What's wrong?"

Maria looked at her with wide eyes, shock and surprise still written all over her face. She had to smirk though when she saw her girlfriend's hair standing up in several directions.

"WHAT? Are you insane now or….?"

"He's coming home!" she shouted excitedly and climbed on the bed, jumping up and down on it. "He's coming home. He's coming home. He's coooooooooooooming home."

Tess had a hard time concentrating; her whole body was still longing for sleep while she was being shaken badly from the jumping. "DeLuca! Stop that, goddamn it!"

She felt sympathy and quit the movement. Instead she dropped herself on the bed, sitting down next to her friend and shoving the cell right in her face.

"Okay, I'm not blind," Tess muttered and took her wrist to hold it further away to read what was written on the screen before she leaned around to look at the annoying person who had awakened her.

"He's coming home," Maria said again, but in a whisper now as the words finally sank in. Tears welled up in her eyes and quickly spilled over.

The anger about the shocking, way too early wake up call was forgotten immediately when Tess heaved herself forward to hug her friend tightly. "He is, M." How long had her friend waited for a sign from him and now he was finally coming back home. "I'm happy for you."

"Gosh," Maria sniffed and wiped her face while she let go of the other girl again and glanced back down at her cell. "I still can't believe it. Maybe you should pinch me for proof this isn't a dream."

"Sure," the curly blonde reached out to tweak the skin of her upper arm.

"Owwww! What the hell.."

"You asked for it."

"It's just a stupid saying, Harding," Maria rubbed her hurting skin and got off of the bed again.

"Was this his only message?"

"Yeah… he probably isn't sure yet how soon he'll be home yet. They don't get all the information about the flights and stuff, so it could still take a week or so."

Tess crawled out of her bed as well and pulled a robe around herself. "Why don't we just celebrate this with a little Champagne and breakfast?"

Maria made a face. "How can you think about alcohol again already? My head is still hurting."

"They say to start with what you ended a night to make it better, right? And what, IF NOT THIS would be a better reason?"

"Alright fine," her friend agreed with a smile.

"Get ready and I'm gonna call Parker in."

"No, let her sleep, Tess. It's still early."

"Uh-huh, nope. If I'm suffering from lack of sleep because of your lover, she's gonna suffer as well."

"You are so bad," Maria shook her head, amused. To be honest, she would love to share these feelings with both girls.

"You should be used to it by now, girlfriend." Tess winked at her. "Hey, guess Michael's message means he turned on his cell, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"What're you waiting for, M?" She made a waving gesture. "Go ahead and call him. I'll wait for you downstairs."

Maria nodded and looked down at her cell when she was alone in the room. Somehow talking to him after so long seemed totally unreal. She pushed the speed dial button and lifted the phone to her ear, but she quickly realized that the other end went straight to voice mail.

_He's probably on a plane right now,_ she thought and decided not to worry about it yet.

"So you don't know yet when he's coming to Boston?" Liz asked and picked at her chocolate croissant until she had pulled off a small piece and shoved it into her mouth.

The girls had gone to their favorite little café in town for breakfast while Maria shared her fantastic news. "No, he said no specific time, but he never does so that's not unusual. It'll probably be during the next week."

"I'm happy for you," the brunette told her with a smile.

Tess giggled.

"What?"

"You've got chocolate on your teeth, E," she said in amusement and showed off her own to point at her incisor.

"Don't call me E," Liz grumbled and used her tongue to wipe the chocolate away. "Gone?" she asked and grinned at the girls.

"That's better," Tess agreed and sipped her coffee. She rolled her eyes when Liz' cell buzzed a few times. "Cyber-gigolo on the messenger again?"

"No, it's a friend, Ms. Nosy. And by the way, his name is William."

The two blondes at the table exchanged a surprised look. "You got a name?"

"And?" Liz asked, trying to not to look too proud at finding it out finally.

"And? When did that happen between now and a few hours ago?"

The brunette leaned back and shrugged. "Well, in between the last few hours," she answered smartly.

"Funny, Parker! Now share!"

Liz groaned. "There's not much to share. I asked and he told me."

"You think William's his real name?" Maria made a face. "Sounds kinda… old."

"Classic," her friend corrected her.

"Old," Tess dissented and agreed with Maria.

"Whatever. You two told me to find out more, so I'm trying."

"Hey, why don't you invite him over for my father's birthday?" Tess suggested while chewing on her toast.

"What?" Liz frowned. "Why would anyone be interested in coming to your father's birthday?"

"Uh-oh…." Maria said, amused, and leaned back to enjoy the spectacle.

"Why?" Tess asked, annoyed. "Well, because it's his fiftieth and we'll have a huge party at our house. Even the president will be there!"

"So?" Liz asked, sounding bored. She knew that her lack of excitement about it was driving her friend crazy. "Still don't see the point. No normal college guy wants to hang out with a bunch of politicians."

"But…." Tess stuttered indignantly. "M, help me out! Tell her why this is a big event."

"Well," Maria said and sipped her drink, "the food will be good."

"You know what, you two suck," the curly blonde said and crossed her arms over her chest. "If you don't wanna come then fine, stay away."

"Come on, Harding," Maria kicked her friend's chair. "You know we'll be there, but Liz is probably right. That's not really the place for a first real date."

"Why not? At least this way she'll have us around if the guy's a serial killer."

"He's not a killer," Liz rolled her eyes. "And I'm not inviting him. Point."

"Fine," Tess said sulkily.

"I hope Michael's here before then. It'd be nice to have him around at a party for once," Maria said.

"Uh-huh, I doubt I'll see you at all if he's here then." She wiped her lips with the napkin and placed it aside. "Just remember, my room's off limits."

"We'll use the indoor whirlpool," Maria said, amused.

Tess made a face. "You know what, whatever happens, I don't wanna know."

"Yeah, sure," Liz snorted. "As if Tess Harding would ever let that pass without being nosy."

"Whatever," the other girl dismissed her. "Can't you tell Michael to bring some hot an' sexy soldier with him? In uniform preferably."

"Maybe Kyle with be with him," Maria suggested.

"Kyle? That skinny, pale, sorry excuse of a real man?"

"Tess, the last time you saw him was what? Three? Four years ago? He's changed."

"I'm not interested," she said stubbornly and waved for a waitress. "Can you bring us three glasses of Champagne please?"

"You really wanna drink in the morning, huh?"

Tess ignored her and waited for the drinks while she watched her best friends eating the rest of their breakfast in silence. She nodded in thanks when her order was brought and took her glass, lifting it up to the air. "Ladies," she said meaningfully. "Here's to a better year… to Michael coming home and hopefully staying a while…. to Liz hopefully not getting murdered by a serial killer…"

"Shut up," the other girl groaned.

"… to Tess finally getting laid again so she stops bitching," Maria completed the speech with a laugh when she earned a glare.

Clinking of glasses could be heard as well as the happy laughter of all three girls while they enjoyed their time together, completely clueless that the course of events had already taken a different path.


	9. Chapter 2A

**Chapter 2**

**01/02/2012**

**Chapter 2A**

"What's wrong with you, Philip?" Diane placed her hand over her husband's gently while they had breakfast in the kitchen and not in the dining room as usual. "You've been off all day since yesterday and it doesn't seem to be any better now."

"Just… work," he grumbled and glanced down at his almost untouched food.

"Does it have anything to do with the hurried meeting on New Years Day?" she asked, pretty sure she was right.

He lifted his gaze and looked at her, forcing a small smile. "You know I can't talk about my meetings with you." _Not yet anyway._

Diane chuckled slightly. "Doesn't keep me from asking."

"You know me too well, wife," he said slightly amused and got up, squeezing her shoulder while he carried his leftovers to the counter next to the sink. "I need to get back to the office, there are some calls waiting for me."

Max opened the door to the kitchen right at the same time as his father was leaving. He jumped to the side quickly to not bump into the other man. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Well, good morning, son," he said with a sigh when he just got the usual grumbling from him. He glanced back to Diane and nodded. "Don't expect me for lunch, I'll be pretty busy most of the day."

"Alright," she agreed, still wondering what was up with him. _Sometimes he took his job a bit too personal,_ she thought, _but in the end,_ _he was the President of the USA_.

Max waited until his father had disappeared then walked further into the room, his bare feet making funny pit-a-pat sounds on the floor. He stopped in front of the large storage cabinet and opened it up, stretching up high to get the Cornflakes from the highest shelf.

Diana watched her son, amused by the look of his messed up dark brown hair. He hadn't shaved, so the skin of his face looked dark and a bit rough. "You know we talked about getting dressed before you come down here," she commented when she realized he was just wearing a tee shirt and boxers. "We have staff and other people running around here sometimes."

"I didn't ask to come here either, so…" he shrugged carelessly, earning a sigh from his mother. Since his father had become the president his behaviour has gotten worse and he didn't even try to hide his reluctance about being the son of one of the most famous men in the world.

"Life is not always about what you want or what you've asked for."

He just snorted in response, trying to remember the last time he had done something he wanted to do, excluding the activities within his own four walls in this house. He took a bowl from the stack on the sink and poured Cornflakes and milk in it before opening up a drawer to get one of the large spoons.

"Don't you wanna sit and eat?" Diane asked, when he grabbed the bowl and was about to leave the room again.

"I'm having breakfast in my room," he answered shortly and left. The hallway outside was still semi dark and the ground very cold under his bare feet, but he ignored it. The thought of having breakfast with his mother while she forced him to listen to how he should support his father more, was even worse.

With his shoulder, he opened one wing of the double door and walked into the living room belonging to his sister and him, glad that she still seemed to be asleep this morning. He took a seat on the couch and set the bowl aside, cursing slightly when a drop of milk slopped out and onto the surface of the expensive coffee table. He used his index finger to brush it off and then wiped the seam of his large tee shirt over it to dry it up. His gaze wandered to the laptop in front of him and he reached out to move the mouse slightly to wake the desktop up. He frowned when there wasn't a blinking sign that let him know he had been contacted. Regardless, he opened up the messenger and checked twice, scrolling down the last chat he had been doing with Liz last night.

"No new message," he muttered and glanced at his watch. It was past the time she had said she would be up again.

**E-X-A-M**: Hey, are you still sleeping?

….

**E-X-A-M**: You are late…

He grabbed the bowl again and leaned back, watching the computer while he ate his breakfast.

"Oh my god, this is just sad," Isabel said after she had watched him a few minutes in silence from her bedroom door.

He glanced up in surprise, but didn't bother to move. "What?"

"Look at you," she walked further out, already looking perfect like usual in the mornings. "Grubby look, cornflakes and unshaved. No one would recognize you the way you look."

"No?" He asked and grinned. "Good. That's the look I'm going for then."

She just rolled her eyes. "Isn't she up yet? Ya know, maybe she's doin' something normal, something REAL people do."

"Whatever," he mumbled, not understanding much while he chewed on the crunchy flakes.

"Suck it up and enjoy the life you have, Max. You know how many people are out there who envy what we have. You could be a bit more thankful."

_Gosh, she sounded like their Mom_, he thought and kept ignoring her until she finally left. He leaned forward and typed again…

**E-X-A-M**: Come on, Liz.

_Was this too desperate?_ he wondered and deleted it again before he could hit the send button. _She would answer, if she was there, so maybe her plans had just changed a bit. But why hadn't she left him a quick note like she usually did?_

The first thing Michael realized when he became conscious again, was the taste of blood in his mouth. He would recognize the metallic, sour taste anywhere. It ran down his throat slightly, but at least it wasn't too bad. Maybe from a bleeding nose or a small cut in the inner cheek.

In spite of his still dazed state and the increasing headache, his senses worked like those of a trained solider and he tried to take in the scenery he was at. His eyes left him in complete darkness, no matter if they were open or closed.

His nose was halfway stopped up, so his sense of smell wasn't much of a help either. Though the air felt sticky and old, a pretty good sign that something was curtaining his whole head – maybe something like a sack. It also smelled musty damp. It reminded him of being in a hole or basement. _Maybe he was in a cave up in the mountains_, he thought.

He took a few deep breaths, ignoring the burning, stinging pain in his chest when he raised his torso, and concentrated on his ears. The blood was rushing loudly in his veins, making it hard to hear anything beyond that. There was something that sounded like mumbling of men, but it was too quiet to pinpoint more about the language.

Before he even tried, he knew that feeling around was not possible, but he tried to move his hands anyway. They were bound tightly behind his back, making it impossible to move more that half an inch at once. The sturdy backrest of the chair he was sitting on pressed into the insides of his upper arms painfully. _It would leave large blue and green marks for sure,_ he thought and concentrated on his feet, surprised when he found them untied and fully moveable.

Carefully he placed them on the ground in front of him and added just a bit pressure to one ankle and then to the next. "Fuck," he hissed slightly when pain shot through his whole leg. He threw his head back to take a few open-mouthed breaths until the ache faded.

Again he tried to move his legs, even more carefully now to pinpoint his injury further. It didn't feel like something was broken, but he could be wrong. There was a damp feeling on the left leg that could be an open wound or just mud. The adrenaline as well as the shock his body was still in, kept him from analyzing his injuries correctly.

Michael relaxed his muscles, knowing that panicking or a heated attempt to flee would be his end right now. Over the years he had learned to read the signals of his body well enough to realize what he was able to do and what not to do. He forced his thoughts away from the current situation and tried to remember what had been going on earlier instead.

It took a few minutes before the accident came back to his mind. He suddenly saw the blinking in the mountains again, saw the rocket flying towards the Hummer with no doubt about its intended target.

_It must have missed the car and just hit the ground next to us,_ he thought. There was no way he would have gotten out of that alive if the rocket had hit the Hummer directly.

But what then? What had happened after that? No matter how hard he tried, there was nothing he could remember and it was pretty obvious that he had blacked out until now.

His body suddenly jerked up, making him groan in pain when he remembered something else. _He had written a text message to his girlfriend. Why had he been so stupid to do that? He should have known better and should have waited until he had been out of this country._

A sound made him push his thoughts away again and he held his breath while muffled steps grew louder and suddenly stopped. The sound of an opened door could be heard – _a heavy door_, he realized.

"Corporal Guerin," a man with a strong Arabic accent greeted, amusement in his tone.

"Ahmad Ibrahim," Michael responded when he recognized the voice immediately, his own voice calm to not show the affect on his psyche.

The other man chuckled coldly. "Very good memory, soldier. And this in your condition. I am impressed."

With an ungentle jerk, the sack over his head was gone and he squeezed his eyes shut when the light in the room hurt. "I can't say I'm happy to see your ugly mug again," Michael said.

"Told you we would meet again," Ibrahim said and walked around him to observe the soldiers injuries. He kicked the chair he was sitting on with his foot when he noticed the open wound on his calf.

Michael ground his teeth together to not cry out in pain. The last thing he would give this asshole was the satisfaction of winning over him. "What ya up to, Ibrahim? We both know my unit will get you sooner or later."

Ahmad laughed deeply. "I've been watching you for weeks and your glorious unit hasn't even realized it, Guerin. Anyway…. This has nothing to do with you little Special Forces rats that contaminate our country. This is between you an' me. We have an open account and you are here to pay up."

He knew all too well what that meant. This wasn't about getting information or taking a hostage to get something from them. Michael lifted his head to look at the man in front of him and couldn't help but think about his mistake of telling Maria he would be home soon. _How long would she live in hope and fear until someone was able to tell her the truth?_

Ahmad Ibrahim wanted him dead and with his current situation, his plan would most likely succeed.


	10. Chapter 2B

**Chapter 2B**

**Massachusetts General Hospital - Boston – 1pm **

The constant beeping of the monitor to her right side was slowly but surely making her tired, while she sat next to the hospital bed her mother was occupying. Liz tried to suppress the huge yawn, which was trying to escape her mouth for more than once now, but she finally gave up and let it out.

"Go home, Lizzie", Lucy Parker said gently when she watched her daughter fighting her exhaustion.

"I am good, mom", she denied stubbornly. They had been here since 4 am the night, when her mother had started to feel uncomfortable and since she had talked to William until late that night there hadn't been much sleep at all.

"You should sleep a bit, I won't go anywhere", Lucy tried and sipped on her glass of water weakly. She hated that her daughter was spending so much time with her because of her condition, instead of enjoying her young life together with her friends. "I am okay, really."

Liz shook her head. "You know I won't leave so just give up, Mom." She was tired like hell, but it didn't matter. She needed to be with the only family member she had left, who knew how long they could still spend time together. "I am gonna get a coffee and a snack. You want anything?" She asked when she got up and grabbed her cell.

"No, I have everything I need", Lucy said, sad that Liz wouldn't just go home for a while and rest.

"I will be back in a few minutes." The brunette girl walked out into the corridors and turned left to head out towards a small balcony where she could turn on her cell briefly. She knew the hospital better than any other building in this town according to the many days her mother and her had spent here.

"Hello Liz", Dr. Dray greeted her when he walked out of another patient's room and saw the girl heading to the balcony.

"Oh hi Dr. D.", she greeted him and smiled. He was the doctor of her mother as well and they both had gotten to know each other pretty well during the last years.

"I heard your mother was brought here this morning."

"Yeah", she sighed, "again."

He rested one hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "I looked over her blood tests earlier. Seems like it were just her meds, which made her feel bad. There is no hint yet that this has anything to do with her cancer."

Liz nodded relieved. "That's good news."

"I will look after her later in the afternoon and if everything stays okay, you can take her home tonight again."

"Okay", Liz smiled a bit. "Thank you." She gestured to her cell. "Sorry, I need to make a quick call."

"Go ahead", he told her with a nod and left into the other direction.

She looked after him for a moment before she continued her way outside. The air was cold when she shoved the double doors open and stepped outside, but she liked it. At least it would help against her tiredness a bit. With a quick move she turned her cell on and waited until she was asked to pinch in her PIN code. A silent smirk waved over her face, when the greeting desktop – a photo from Maria, Tess and her – appeared and she remembered the day on the beach last summer. It had been really fun.

Before she could dial a number, the cell started to buzz a few times and her heart made just a slight bounce when she read the incoming messages from William. _Seems like he got nothing to do,_ she thought amused.

_I am at the hospital again. Don't worry, my Mom is okay now. Be online later. Liz _

She sent the message to him quickly and turned the messegner off before he could wrap her up in a conversation, which would last forever again. Then she dialled the number of her friend and lifted the cell to her ear, while she waited for the other girl to pick up.

"Parker, where are you. We said we would meet at 1pm at my house", Tess said, without passing a greeting first.

"Hello to you too", Liz said with an eye roll.

"Where are you? M is already waiting for us. You know she is refusing to leave her apartment in case Michael is showing up today. Ya know, I really don't think it is necessary to wait for him at home. I mean, he would call her when he is home right?" The blonde girl started to ramble immediately.

"Tess", Liz interrupted, but failed.

"Spending the whole day in the apartment does not sound like real fun, right? Well at least I brought some videos and cosmetics, so-"

"Harding", Liz called again to get her attention and smiled when the other girl finally shut up. "I can't come, sorry."

"Huh? Why?"

"My mom is at the hospital again and I wanna stay with her."

"Oh", Tess said and her mood sank. "She okay?"

"Better now yeah. The doc said it were probably just her meds. If everything is alright, I can take her home tonight again."

"Call me if ya need a transport, okay? I can take my Mom's car."

"Okay, thanks", Liz nodded despite the fact that her friend could not see it. "I need to go again. Tell Maria I am sorry."

"Don't worry, M will understand. Or should we come over?"

"Nah. I don't want Maria's mood on a nosedive because of this. She is super happy about Michael getting back home."

"Alright, but call us if you need anything.

"I will and now don't let her wait any longer. Talk to ya later, Tess."

"Bye E."

**Boston – Guerin-DeLuca apartment – 2pm**

"Wait, I am getting you, do you understand", Tess told her little brother when she parked the car in front of Maria's building and saw that he was already fumbling with his seatbelt on the backseat.

Daniel Harding just babbled something no one but he would understand and ignored her little warning happily. The seat belt snapped open when he had pressed the right button and as soon as he had freed himself, he started to climb out of his seat.

"Hey", she called loudly and reacted quickly before he could open the door to get out and grabbed him on his arm quickly and maybe a bit to firm, because he started to cry immediately.

"Mommaaaaa", Daniel sobbed.

Tess waited until the boy had sat down again before she climbed out if the car and around it to open the door for her brother. "You always cry for mom and visa verca when ya don't get what ya want, huh?" She said with an eye roll, but caressed his little head gently and lifted him out of the car and up into her arms. "Better again?" She asked and looked at him.

Daniel sniffed a few times and rubbed his face with one hand, wiping away his tears as well as his snot.

"Ungh, great", she bent over and took the bag with changing clothes for him. On last minute her mom had told her she had to watch her little brother this afternoon, because she was going to visit Dad in Washington. Whatever had happened at New Years Eve, it had to be important, since he hadn't been back home since then.

"M?" Daniel asked and pointed at the building.

"You recognize it, huh? Yeah, we are visiting M and maybe Mr. M will be here soon too."

The boy giggled happily, even if he wouldn't have a clue, who Michael was. They had met before, but it was doubtful Daniel remembered this. "I am letting you down now, ok? I need to carry the other stuff."

She placed her brother back on his own feet, but held one of his hands so he couldn't get away again, while she took the other things out of the car and closed it up.

Thanks God Maria lived in the second floor, she thought when they walked up the stairs. Damn building hadn't even a working elevator, since it was rebuilt by now. She coughed slightly when she knocked on her friend's door and felt like she was sweating everywhere. Great, she thought, it always ended like this when she was on the road with her brother and all the stuff that needed to go with him.

"Hey", Maria opened the door happily, expecting Liz and Tess in front of them. "Ah, look who's there, Mr. D." she crouched down and hugged the little boy, who was standing right in front of Tess.

"Sorry my Mom went to Washington last minute, so I had to bring him, since you are refusing to leave your home."

"I am glad you brought him. I made muffins", Maria wiggled her eyes at Daniel and laughed when his eyes grew at the mention of food.

"U-hm, first you gotta take your afternoon nap, buddy."

He looked up at his sister and pouted. "No nap, Tessie."

"Sure as hell nap, Danny", she said back with a smirk.

"Nooo", he said and the tears already started to fall again.

"He always is a little pain when he is tired", she whispered to her friend when they walked inside.

"Don't worry", Maria whispered back. "We will get him to sleep sooner or later." She lifted the boy up and closed the door behind them. "Where is Liz?"

"Her mom is in the hospital again. She couldn't come but she says hi."

"In the hospital?" Maria asked alarmed. "Is everything okay?"

"It were probably just the meds", Tess said and placed everything in on corner of the living room. "Probably can go back home tonight. I told her to call us if she needs help."

"Okay good." Maria sighed. Her friend had been in the hospital with her mom way to often in the last years, so she hoped it was really just a quick stop there.

"Did you hear from Michael again?" Tess asked and plopped down on the comfy huge couch Maria and Michael had bought during his last stop home.

"No", Maria said, in her tone a hint of sadness, "his cell is still turned off."

"You are not worried right?" Tess made sure. "He just contacted you yesterday, so he could be still on his way.

"Yeah", Maria said and caressed Daniel's arms, while she held him in her lap. "I have no clue where in the world he was so it can still take days for him to come home."

"Right! He will be here soon, M. Just relax."

"Easier said then done", she smiled tightly. "It's like your body is flooded with electricity the whole time. I didn't sleep much last night, always expecting that the door would finally open up and he's stepping in."

"Like when you have an orgasm?"

"Tess!" Maria warned and looked down at the child, but then realized that the boy was on his way to sleep.


	11. Chapter 2C

**Chapter 2C**

Alex Whitman glanced out through the tinted window, amazed when they turned a corner and drove up the long driveway to the White House. He could see the tourists, taking their pictures while they were lined up along the huge fence which protected the property. His arrival had some people suspicious and he could see a few of them move around to take pictures of the car he was sitting in. A chuckle escaped his lips, _if they knew it was only me, they wouldn't be all that excited_.

A black limousine had picked him up from the Washington DC airport immediately after his plane had landed. He had been surprised when a man, wearing a black suit, had been waiting for him at the steps that lead to the debarkation area, and had told him he was there to pick him up. He hadn't needed to go through all the typical airport security checks, which were so annoying at times, and the limousine had taken him out of the airport in no time through an exit that was probably only used by really important people and maybe staff.

"Mr. Whitman…"

Alex' head snapped up. He hadn't even realized that the car had come to a stop and the chauffeur was holding the door open for him. "Oh, right," he said and hurried to grab his briefcase before he stepped out of the limousine. He glanced around the area and frowned when secret service agents came up from both sides to rush him inside so the photographers at the fence couldn't get a good shot. _Not that they would know me anyway,_ he thought, irritated.

A side door of the building was opened as soon as they reached it and within a few seconds he was inside the White House being greeted by the President himself.

"Mr. Whitman," Philip Evans said, his tone friendly as he shook hands with him, his grip tight and confident. "I wish we could have met for the first time under better conditions."

"Mr. President," Alex said with a polite nod, wondering if this was some kind of standard greeting the man before him tossed at all new people he met in a crisis. "Indeed, the circumstances could be better," he agreed though.

They walked along the long corridor of the building. "I know you must be tired from the flight. I expect you didn't get much sleep in the last 24 hours?"

"Not at all, no," Alex agreed. His last decent night of sleep had been the afternoon of December 31st, before his night shift had started. After that his life had been turned upside down between detecting the asteroid, contacting the Secretary of Defence and being rushed to Washington.

They stopped when the hallway separated in two directions. "Mary will show you to your room," Jeff gestured at the woman waiting for them.

"I'm sleeping here?" he asked in surprise.

"We've set up a meeting for tonight, so I figured a room here would be the easiest and most comfortable way for you to get settled in without being rushed around even more. And this way we can also prevent the press from getting too much information. They're already suspicious and we don't want to feed them with more, do we?"

"Of course not."

"Fuckin' sand," Kyle kicked a stone across the ground in frustration, following it with his eyes until it hit a nearby tree with a hollow sound before it fell back to the dirt again.

He had gone back to the accident site that morning, checking the location where Michael had been seen last and had followed the jeep tracks that led away from it. Time was working against him through, since the constant, albeit slight wind and the loose sand on the ground were doing their best to erase the light tracks of tires. Not to mention he had no clue how far they had gone or if these tracks really belonged to the car Michael had been kidnapped in.

Night would fall soon and then it would be almost impossible to see anything. He hadn't thought about making camp or eaten yet either. "It's like looking for a needle in a damn haystack," he muttered to himself and crouched down to run his hand over the ground where the grass had been flattened. A bit of relief washed over him when it seemed like he at least was still walking in the right direction. His head lifted to follow the landscape where there was more flat grass and he sighed when it led to the foot of the mountain. "Of course you're gonna hide in the fuckin' mountains," he cursed under his breath and took out his field glasses.

He scanned the area along the tracks, taking his time to make sure he didn't miss any clue nature offered. His slow moves stopped when he detected a small cabin, hidden by trees and loose woods around it. "Bingo," he said, but the word almost stuck in his throat when his observation went on and he could see a single man sitting on the ground nearby, obviously preparing his dinner. "What're you doin' out here in the middle of nowhere, huh?"

Kyle pushed his glasses back into his pack and checked the best way to get to the cabin undetected. He had no clue if there were others hiding in the shadows the trees and mountain offered, but he knew he was running out of options. If he was lucky enough and Michael was still alive, then he couldn't lose any time getting to wherever they were hiding him.

Alex stepped out of his room after he had taken a shower, trying to remember the directions Mary had given him to find the guest kitchen, where she had promised him the best food in Washington. He turned left in the hallway and frowned when he found three doors, where he had expected only one. _Maybe it was the next hallway left_, he thought to himself and went back.

_Two doors_, he sighed, unable to remember the maid's words earlier. His brain was just too tired right now and he was considering just going back to his room, when someone spoke up from behind.

"Gotten lost?" Isabel grinned at the stranger in the hallway, thinking that it was kind of cute how he looked so irritated by all the different doors in the house.

He turned around and felt his cheeks flush slightly when he came face to face with the daughter of the president. He had read a few articles about the family and knew that she was pretty, but she looked even better in the person. "Kinda yeah…" he replied with a cheeky grin. "I was looking for the kitchen."

"You're totally going the wrong way," she said, amused, and walked over to him, hooking an arm in the crook of his. "The kitchen's at the other end of the house," she told him while they started walking.

He was annoyed by her charming behavior, but followed her with a nod. "Thank God you found me before I stumbled into a room where I have absolutely no right to be."

"Yeah I saved you from that," Isabel said, amused. "So…" she glanced at him questioningly.

"Alex."

"Alex, why are you here?"

"I, oh, um…" he stuttered.

She laughed when he blushed again. "You can't tell me, am I right?"

"Yeah," he said, relieved when it didn't seem to be a problem for her.

"Always the same with my father's guests."

"There're a lot of new people here during the day, huh?"

Isabel nodded and let go of him when they reached their destination. "There are, not a lot get to stay at our house though." She leaned forward to open the door, making an inviting gesture for him until she turned to leave him alone again. "You must be something special I guess." Her tone was teasing and she didn't wait for a reply from him.

Alex stared after her, not really knowing what to think about the little encounter. Had she been flirting with him?

It almost took an hour for Kyle to get to the little cabin near the mountain. He had to make twists and turns to stay out of sight of the man he was aiming for. Darkness was slowly but surely falling over them, which made it easier to hide, but more difficult to see potential threats.

His breath and heartbeat was lowered to the bare minimum as training over the years had taught him, while he was crouched down behind high grass only a few feet away from the Arab man. A machine-gun was sitting against a rock next to him and the movements, body language, and the way he handled dinner made it easy for Kyle to identify him as one of the bad guys.

It would be easy enough to kill him quietly before the guy would recognize him, but the problem was that he needed answers and a dead man would not give him those. Interrogating him in an open field was dangerous, but he had no choice but to risk it. They were in the middle of nowhere, not really any possibilities to get answer without being obvious.

He got up from his position noiselessly and took a few steps forwards. With two quick moves he kicked the machine gun up and turned it to press it against the man's back firmly. "Get up!"

The other man started to mumble something in Arab and though Kyle did know parts of the language due to his missions, he couldn't understand what he was saying. He pressed the weapon against him more firmly to get him to stand up. His left hand came to rest on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly as he guided him to the little cabin, which he had already checked before going after the man.

"Sit down," he growled and forced his enemy down to the single chair in the room.

Again the other man started to mumble in his native language but this time he understood some but not all of what he was saying. Kyle growled and stood up in front of him after he had tied his arms and legs to the furniture. He used his left arm to tip the chair backwards until the backrest crashed to the wall. "Where did you take our man?"

Again the man mumbled in his language, something about not understanding anything.

"Don't give me that shit," Kyle barked and rammed the machine gun into his side. "You fuckin' understand what I'm saying! Where. Have. You. Taken. Our. Man?"

_His eyes betrayed him,_ the trained solider noticed. Every time he had mentioned Michael, there was just the slightest reaction in them, not visible to most people, but they had learned to get answers without people even answering at all.

The Al Qaeda agent stayed silent, which was no surprise for Kyle. His gaze roamed over the man in front of him and he froze when something in his breast pocket drew his attention. He jerked it open, almost ripping it off with the move and pulled the item out. _It was Michael's cell,_ he realized and felt a wave of sickness wash over him.

He got his emotions under control in the time it took to blink and turned his sharp gaze back to the man's face. "You have no fuckin' clue what I'm talking about, huh?" His voice was a dangerous whisper. He pushed the half-damaged cell into his own pocket and used his foot to kick the chair hard until it fell back on all four legs.

"He's probably long dead," the man suddenly said with an Arab dialect.

Kyle answered with a hard slap of the machine gun across the other guy's face. "Who has him?"

The reaction was just a snort and a spit of fresh blood at his shoes.

It took everything in him to not cry out in frustration. He hated this place! They had been so close to going back home, away from all this shit, the terrorists, the sand, the heat, assholes like… His thoughts almost tumbled over each other suddenly. "Ibrahim," he said matter-of-factly, his eyes locked on the other man.

Kyle nodded to himself when his opponent's pupils widened for a second at the mention of the name. _Yes, he was sure he was right. The question was if that was good or bad news. _


	12. Chapter 3A

**Chapter 3**

**01/06/2012**

Chapter 3A

Liz yawned widely and stretched out on her stomach on the bed, trying to find a more comfy position after sitting at her desk for the last three hours, where she had worked on a paper for her online class.

"Assholes," she mumbled, when there was still no email from her other two teammates for this special class. It was already after 10 pm and she needed their information before she could continue with her own part. _It's gonna be a long night_, she thought tiredly when she experienced once more the downside of online classes instead of attending college classes on campus.

**E-X-A-M**: Hey Brownie! You're still online so it must be that you're still stuck on homework?!

She smiled when William's new message showed on the screen in front of her. _At least some distraction until my stupid teammates decide to cooperate. _

**BostonGirl**: Yeah, *sigh*. Did I tell you how much I hate to working on teams for online classes?

**E-X-A-M**: Not in the last hour, no. ;)

**BostonGirl**: Haha! Funny, Willi.

Max made a face when she reminded him about his lie. William! How had he come up with that name? It sounded… old and …. He wasn't a William.

**E-X-A-M: **They're keeping you up late again, huh? That sucks.

**BostonGirl**: It does!

**BostonGirl**: Fuck them!

**BostonGirl**:

**E-X-A-M: **At least you have me! I'll keep you company until they send ya their work.

**BostonGirl**: You better! I am so tired.

**E-X-A-M: **Lol, is that a threat?

**BostonGirl**: Does it work?

**E-X-A-M: **You don't need to force me, I'm staying at my own risk! ;)

Liz smiled to herself. It was fun to talk nonsense with him, time always passed so quickly while they talked.

**BostonGirl**: I envy you for being able to have REAL classes, ya know? I wish I could too, but with my Mom… I need to be here in Boston.

_If you knew_, Max thought. Normal classes really weren't an option for him either. At least they had that much in common.

**E-X-A-M: **Real classes can suck too! At least you don't have to worry if you'll sleep through one. ;)

_You are such a liar, Evans! _

**E-X-A-M: **How is your Mom, btw? She been better the last few days?

**BostonGirl**: Yeah, just very tired. The meds they gave her were knocking her out. Now she's got new ones, but they beat her ass as well and she sleeps a lot. Doc said it might get better after a few days though.

**E-X-A-M: **I'll cross my fingers for her.

**BostonGirl**: Thx.

**BostonGirl**: How was dinner with your parents?

She knew from the things he said, that the relationship with his parents wasn't the best, but he didn't talk much about it.

**E-X-A-M: **Boring and starched like expected. *eye roll*

_It had been a nightmare_, he thought. Dinner with his folks was usually painful, but now with a guest in the house for the past few days everything was even more awkward. No personal talks around that Whitman guy. It was hard enough to think about everything he said in public before, but now the parade was going on INSIDE his home as well.

**BostonGirl**: Come on! Can't be that bad!

Liz was sure he was just overacting. He probably had nice parents, maybe boring, but at least they both seemed healthy and…. Alive!

**E-X-A-M: **Believe me! It can be THAT bad!

**BostonGirl**: You know what can be bad?

**E-X-A-M: **Classmates?

**E-X-A-M: **Dirty Dancing movie?

**E-X-A-M: **Every other dance movie?

**BostonGirl**: Shut up!

Max laughed at her response. Yeah, Liz had a thing for dance movies and he made fun of it all the time.

**E-X-A-M: **Drooled over Channing Tatum lately? What was the name of that movie? "Stamp On?"

**BostonGirl**: It's "Step Up" and don't pretend you don't know it. *eye roll*

**E-X-A-M: **So what can be really bad then, hmm?

**BostonGirl**: I don't know if I still wanna talk with you now.

Liz wiggled around and grabbed the glass of water from the floor to take a sip while she grinned at their conversation. The constant back and forth was fun and distracting.

**E-X-A-M: **I know you want to. So what's bad? Want me to guess again?

**BostonGirl**: NO!

**BostonGirl**: I'll tell you, if you let me for once.

**E-X-A-M: **…

**BostonGirl**: Well, besides my classmates… there's this party this weekend. Tess' Dad is going to be 50. Of course she invited us girls as well – and I'm almost sure she just does it to annoy us, because it'll be totally boring.

Max straightened up at that while his mind ran over the possibilities. He knew from their chats that Tess' father was involved in some kind of politics and that he was a busy man. Liz had never told him what exactly he was doing at all though. _But how many important people in Boston would turn 50 this weekend? _

**E-X-A-M: **Ah, Tess' Dad? Isn't he some kinda politician?

He pretended cluelessness even though he was sure she had mentioned it once or twice.

**BostonGirl**: Yeah, in some way.

**E-X-A-M: **What does he do?

**BostonGirl**: Can't tell you, remember? Special job… so nothing to talk about in public if you're a friend of his daughter.

No, he hadn't forgotten. He was just looking for confirmation. If he wasn't wrong then Tess' father had to be Ed Harding, the Secretary of Defence.

**E-X-A-M: **Okay, well if he's some kind of politician then you're probably right… Parties like that ARE bad.

**BostonGirl**: See? There will be snobs only.

**E-X-A-M: **At least you got Tess there! Oh, and Maria I guess. So it could be fun in the end.

No matter how much she complained about the girls now and then, he had a feeling the three stuck together no matter what.

**BostonGirl**: Yeah… true. I love them, but shhhh! Don't tell them.

**E-X-A-M: **How would I? lol

_Again! If she knew!_ How things looked now, his family was going to that special party as well. Which meant that he and Liz would meet again. Unfortunately she wouldn't know that she was actually meeting HIM. He could feel his excitement about the night though.

**BostonGirl**: You never know! ;) What're ya gonna do over the weekend?

**E-X-A-M: **Need to be at some stupid b-day party as well. Won't be any fun either.

He hated lying to her, but what choice did he have? Either he told her the truth and his father would kill him because things like that wouldn't be a secret for long. Or he could tell her the truth and she'd send him right to her blacklist. Liz had made it clear more than once that she wasn't into any rich, spoiled or snobbish people. And while he didn't call himself anything like that, she would totally think he was all of that.

**BostonGirl**: Guess we both don't have any luck this weekend then.

**E-X-A-M: **Ah, you never know! Maybe you'll meet someone at the party.

**E-X-A-M: **It could be!

**BostonGirl**: Doubtful! I'm not interested in those kinda people!

Max sighed when she gave him the proof he had _NOT_ needed.

**E-X-A-M: **But you like Tess?! Don't you?

**BostonGirl**: Yeah, but she's different. Plus we've known each other such a long time. It was different when we were younger. And she's not trying to impress anyone with her family's money.

**E-X-A-M: **So? Maybe there'll be others like her at the party.

**BostonGirl**: Want to pawn me on someone else, huh?

**E-X-A-M: **Never! ;)

**E-X-A-M: **Just saying… ya know…

Liz frowned at the screen. What was wrong with him? His answers were just a bit weird.

**BostonGirl**: I'll keep my eyes open! ;)

Max stared at the messenger when her answer got through to him. His lips turned into a slight smirk before he sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "We'll find out, I guess."


	13. Chapter 3B

**Chapter 3B**

He had lost track of time some time ago. _Was it day or night? Thursday, Friday?_ He couldn't tell since he had spend the last few days in a dark room, which didn't contain much more than dirt, an auxiliary toilet, and a stinky mattress on the ground. Michael had tried to take care of the open wound on his calf as good as possible, but there wasn't much more to use than his dirty clothes to clean and bandage it.

His head was hurting badly from fluid depletion. It was hard to concentrate or think straight, which he knew was also a result from the little bit of water they gave them. Too little to gain strength and just enough to prevent him from dying.

He coughed slightly and it felt like he had swallowed a truckload of sand, which was now rasping the inside of his throat. The sitting and waiting for his death was driving him insane, but the worst part was the thought about his mistake of telling Maria he would be home. How much time had passed since then? Was she already worried out of her mind? He was pretty sure no one had told her about what had happened and the guilt about what he had done to her with his message was eating him up slowly.

A sound from outside caught his dazed mind. He hadn't seen Ibrahim again since their meeting after the attack and a part of him was hoping that he was finally back to put an end to this and just kill him.

The heavy door to his dungeon was opened with a squeaking, dragging sound. Michael was sitting against the opposite wall, back to it, and his arms resting on his bent legs. He lifted his hanging head slightly to see who was bothering him this time. His eyes hurt from the contact with the light, but he kept his blurry gaze on the door.

"Michael, Michael, Michael…"

He would recognize that voice anywhere. Ibrahim was finally making an appearance again. His heartbeat increased but he played it cool and tipped his head back to rest against the wall.

"Ahmad," Michael said dryly, his voice rough from the lack of water.

"How did you like your all inclusive package this week?"

"Room service could've been better."

Ibrahim snorted and stood back while two other men came inside, moving to stand at either side of Michael to bring him to his feet. "I am glad you haven't lost your sense of humor. We all know you have a lot of it, right?"

It was hard to stand on his feet. His injured leg was giving in and the dizziness was getting the best of him as well. He hated to be weak like this. Being wounded was one thing, being killed quickly would have been okay, but slowly losing his senses in front of the enemy was the worst.

Ibrahim gestured to a chair at the end of the room and waited until his men had dragged their victim over to it. He ordered them to shackle his arms behind the backrest in their language.

Michael didn't fight it, knowing that his actions would be senseless in his state. He probably wouldn't make it to the door without blacking out.

"Give him water," Ibrahim said and threw a canteen at the man on the left.

He obeyed, opening the cap and guiding the opening to Michael's mouth. He flipped the canteen roughly to bring the water up so that more if it ran along the skin than actually landing where it was supposed to.

"More," the leader said and made a rolling gesture with his hand, but quickly grew impatient and went to take the bottle from his man to do it himself. He pointed to the door and waited until everyone has left the room. "Open your mouth, Guerin, we don't want you to perish yet."

"Fuck you," the other man answered and spit a bit of water at him. He drank though, but slowly. Take too much at once after so long and he would find himself throwing up quickly.

Ahmad just chuckled and finally put the bottle away. "Still rebellious in your state? I like that." He circled the chair, his gaze sharp. "You know who was like this as well?"

"The women and children you killed in Mazari Sharif?" Michael snarled, but kept his gaze forward instead of following the man.

"My brother," Ibrahim growled in his ear from behind and gave the crossed, shackled arms a hard tug before one hand grabbed a bunch of hair to pull his head back. "The brother YOU killed."

"If it hadn't been me, it would've been someone else," the soldier grated out.

"Oh no, Guerin, the credit goes to you and you will atone for it."

_Taliban normally didn't single one man out for punishment, so this was just a personal thing,_ Michael realized. He didn't want information and he wasn't looking for a way to get back at his whole unit. This was just about revenge.

Every man had a breaking point, something or someone who would allow them do things that he or she wouldn't normally do. Something that brought the weakness out of you and showed everyone your weak side. For Ibrahim, that key person had obviously been his brother. The murder on Tahir Ibrahim had finally made him do unusual, uncharacteristic things.

Men who said they weren't breakable, lied. There was always something what would drive them up the wall and make them forget who they were or what their original task was. Once you had that information, you could make them tell you their every hidden secret.

Michael could only hope that Ibrahim was either not clever enough to figure it out or let him die before he found out what the key to his soul was… Maria.

From the first time he had met her, he had known that she was going to change his life in every possible way.

"_Ungh, are you sure ya wanna go here?" Maria made a face when they stepped into the bar filled with smoke and 90% male patrons. _

"_Yep," Tess grinned and went further inside._

_The other girl rolled her eyes and followed her friend. "Ya know, when you said we were going to celebrate your 17th birthday differently, I hadn't thought about something like this. Who knows what we could catch here."_

"_C'mon M'ria," she begged. "I just wanna have some fun without all the fancy stuff._

"_There're other non-fancy things we could do without being in a nasty place like this," Maria complained but followed her to a table at the very end. "I thought you liked your new fancy house, the fancy pool, the garden…"_

"_I do," Tess agreed and ordered two cokes when a waitress stopped by. "But since my father is involved with the White House and the government I've experienced a lot of restrictions and today I just wanna be normal."_

"_Restrictions all right," Maria snorted. "Only you would call more money, more space, and a nice car a restriction."_

"_You know what I mean, I have to watch what I do in public and people always look at me."_

"_And you think this'll help the situation?"_

"_No, but the bar's pretty unknown and we're not doing anything forbidden."_

"_Yet."_

_Tess laughed. "Planning something?" _

_Maria glanced around the room, ignoring the looks a few much older men gave them. "What about a round of pool?" she asked and pointed at the table that had just been cleared by others._

"_Sure, why not. I'll block it and you wait for the drinks."_

_Tess got up and walked over to put a few quarters into the slot at the side of the pool table, pushing them inside and listening as the balls clacked against each other as they came out. "DeLuca, you want the black or the white cue?" she asked loud enough for half of the bar to hear it._

"_She'll take black," someone called and a bunch of them started to laugh when he grabbed his dick. _

_Maria made a face and placed the drinks on the edge of the billiard table. "Jeez, could you be any louder if you tried?" _

_The other girl just laughed and gave her the black cue. "Not my fault there're some perverts here."_

"_As soon as this game's over, we're going," she told her friend strictly and leaned forward to break, ignoring a whistle from the generous man behind her. _

"_Not bad," Tess admitted and walked around the table to get the best angle for her first shot. _

"_Now you're dragging it out," Maria complained when her friend circled the table for the second time. _

"_I'm just weighing my options."_

"_Whatever," she rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink._

"_It's my birthday. You could be a bit more fun," the curly blonde complained and made her play._

"_Finally." Maria crossed the room to get to the other end of the table and crouched down to draw an imaginary line between the white and the blue ball then nodded to herself and got up again. Just when she was ready to make her move, her eyes collided with someone else, who was obviously watching her. He leaned against the wall across the room, his posture relaxed, while he smoked a cigarette. _

"_Girlfriend," Tess showed up next to her and bumped her slightly. "Why don't you finish your shot before you flirt with that fellow over there?" she teased. _

"_I am not," Maria denied, but looked back at him. Her stomach turned upside down when he smirked at her and blew out the smoke though his lips._

"_Sure you are."_

"_Whatever," she shook the feeling off and concentrated on the game again, but the ball missed its intended goal this time._

_Tess laughed slightly when she passed her. "He's cute, but really Maria… he's already getting to you from afar?"_

"_Why don't ya just shut your cute birthday mouth and go on?"_

_The game went on for another half hour as they slowly neared the end. Maria had been distracted by the guy but she had managed to get a decent lead. "Too bad he doesn't have a cute friend. That could've been fun," Tess said with a wink._

"_He has a friend with him."_

"_You mean that skeleton next to him?" She snorted. _

"_Not your type?"_

"_Not anyone's type." _

"_Alright," Maria mumbled and walked around the table. "Get ready to lose, Harding."_

"_You are such a drama queen," Tess rolled her eyes._

_The other girl laughed and lifted her gaze just slightly to look at the boy who had been watching her all night long, disappointed when he was gone. She was leaning forward as far as she could since the ball was far from the edge and she was ready to make her move when a hand landed on her ass. Quickly, she straightened up and whirled around to meet the eyes of the man who had dared to touch her. "What the hell are you thinking?" _

_He gave her a cheeky grin and held a beer out to her. _

"_No thanks," she dismissed him and tried to leave, but he stepped in her way. _

"_Why're you all pissy, blondie? You've been showing off your ass all night and you expected to not get a reaction?"_

"_I'm not showing off my ass to anyone, especially not to you." _

_Tess watched the scene and was about to help her friend when she noticed someone else that might do the job for her._

"_Piss off, Buck," someone said and grabbed the beer before he gave the man in front of Maria a shove backwards. _

_She shot a glance to her right and felt her heartbeat rising when she saw that the man next to her was the guy who had been watching her._

"_Guerin, don't get in my way," Buck warned and reached for his beer. "You're not even old enough to order that."_

"_Neither is she," he growled and pushed the beer back to its owner, satisfied when he finally left. "Sorry, you have to excuse him. He's only got about one brain cell left by now."_

"_I see," Maria said with a slight smile and studied his handsome face. His features were soft, but when you looked at the whole picture he didn't seem to be a good boy by any meaning. _

_He stared down at her, thinking about how sexy her lips were and already imagining them on his body. _

"_So this's Maria… and you are?" Tess interrupted when she got sick of the staring contest. _

_With a slight blink he looked at her before his gaze went back to the girl in front of him. "Michael."_

"_So, what're you up to, Michael?"_

"_Tess," Maria hissed._

_He smirked and nodded behind them. "You in for another round of pool? Seems like you know what to do with a cue" He lifted his hands when her look turned offended." And I mean that in a totally neutral way."_

"_Excuse us for a moment, will ya?" Tess said and dragged her friend with her to the ladies room._

_Kyle waited until the girls had left before he joined the other man. "Told you those women wouldn't talk to us."_

_Michael glanced at the closed restroom door. His instincts were telling him the hot little blonde was interested, but maybe his buddy was right. Why would a girl like her hang out with someone like him? He could tell from the way she looked and dressed that she came from a nice family with no financial problems. Both were things that didn't count for him. "We'll see," he answered, unwilling to believe yet that they were just leaving._

"_They ran off to the bathroom, what's to prove?"_

_He shrugged and just hoped he was right and Maria would convince her friend to stay. Just because she was probably way too good for him didn't mean she would just back off._

"_I bet they don't come back," Kyle shook his head._

"_What the hell…" Maria muttered and got rid of the hand gripping her arm._

"_Let's go home," Tess said when the door closed behind them._

"_What? Why?"_

"_Um, because you wanted to? Remember when you said you wanted to leave right after the game?"_

"_But that was before a handsome guy talked to me," Maria protested and turned to look in the mirror to check her eye makeup._

"_Handsome? I'll go with you and admit that he has the looks, but M'ria the guy smells like trouble. You really don't wanna get involved with him. Who knows if you can trust him at all?"_

"_If I remember right, it was you who wanted to come here," her friend said. "And now that I'm actually enjoying myself, you wanna leave? I know it's your birthday, but can't we stay a bit longer?" She put on the puppy eyes. "Pretty please?"_

_Tess studied her face for a moment and groaned. There was something about that guy outside, that got to Maria. "Him, of all people!" She threw her hands in the air dramatically. "Fine, but you owe me. And just so you know, I won't leave you alone with him and I'm not putting on a nice show for his skinny friend just because of your hormones."_

_The other girl grinned and hugged her. "Thanks, and I sure as hell hope you won't leave me alone with him." She glanced at the closed door. "I don't know, he's a bit scary, but also very interesting…"_

"_Only you could find a guy in this bar," Tess teased and rolled her eyes._

_The other girl snorted. "You're just saying that because he's interested in me and not you."_

"_DeLuca!"_

_Maria laughed. "Come on. We both know you'd flirt your way through the bar if there was anyone worth the time in your eyes."_

"_One game," Tess said, ignoring the rest. "After that, we're going home."_

"_Maybe," she pushed the door open and they walked back to the pool table. Her eyes connected with Michael's again. "We're in for a game. Maybe we can make it a double?" she asked when she saw his friend had joined him._

"_Sure," he leaned forward, relief washing over him as he rested his weigh on the cue in his hands. "I'm afraid my buddy isn't a genius when it comes to pool," he whispered._

_Maria shivered when his breath ghosted over her neck. She turned slightly to look at him, their faces only a few inches apart. "Neither's mine."_

_He grinned and nodded, shifting back again and holding the cue out to her. "Wanna finish your last game? Think you got interrupted."_

_Tess went ahead and dropped the black ball into the pocket when she overheard him._

"_Hey!"_

"_Come on, DeLuca. You would've won anyway, no need to drag it out so you can have a blast over it."_

"_She's not always like that," Maria rolled her eyes and turned to Michael. "Guess we're ready for the game then."_

"_Alright," he said, making a sign to his friend. "This's Kyle. Kyle, this's Maria an'…"_

"_Tess," she introduced herself._

"_Hi," the other boy greeted shortly, still thinking that Michael was wasting his time with the girls. _


	14. Chapter 3C

**Chapter 3C**

_One pool game had quickly become three and neither of them had noticed how fast time has passed. "You won't be successful with it," Maria said, amused as she watched her girlfriend at the table. She was planning to loop the cue ball over another to hit one of hers, but chances were pretty slim that it would work out for her._

_"Shut up," Tess said, grinning. She wouldn't admit it, but the boys had actually turned out to be good company and they'd had a lot of fun. She stuck the tip of her tongue out while she aimed for the ball, her eyes growing wide when she pushed too hard and the cue ball hopped too high and jumped the edge of the table, landing with a loud thud on the floor._

_Michael had just managed to jump to the side so he wouldn't get hit, the small side-effect of that move putting him right behind Maria a welcome accident. "Tryin' to kill me?"_

_"Tempting," Tess said and sipped on her coke while she smirked over the edge of the glass._

_Kyle snorted and went to pick the ball up, running his foot a few times over the floor where the thing had damaged it slightly. He was pretty surprised that the evening had turned out so well. Though he knew that hitting on the curly blond girl wasn't going to work, he enjoyed hanging out with them. They had learned that Tess was from a wealthy family, while Maria was more middle class, but for up-town girls they were both pretty cool and didn't have too much prejudice towards them._

_"We should tell your dad to set up a pool table at your house, so you can practice," Maria said, amused. It was hard to concentrate with Michael being so close behind her. His arms rested on each side of her at the edge of the table, while his chest was brushing up against her on occasion. She was sure he could feel the increasing heat in her body._

_"I'm good at other things," the other girl said cheeky._

_**I bet**, Kyle thought, but kept it to himself._

_"Seems like Kyle an' I are winning again," Michael noticed, his tone teasing._

_"The eight ball isn't in yet," Maria denied._

_"Just a matter of seconds," he replied and reached around her to take the cue from her. His large hand settled over hers very deliberately and he squeezed it slightly. She automatically turned her head to look at him, but was unable to say anything. His brown eyes were staring down at her softly, his gaze almost feeling like a caress to her._

_Tess watched them attentively. She didn't know how this had happened, but somehow she had a feeling that this night was only the beginning of a very long story for them._

_A small smile played around Maria's lips when he winked at her before he finally took the cue out of her hands to make his final play. As expected he sent the eight ball into the right pocket easily and then grinned at his friend triumphantly._

_"I know you're gonna hate what I'm about to say, but my father's already send me a text message twice to ask why we're still not home and it's getting hard to come up with things to make him believe we were in town to see a movie," Tess approached her friend and talked to her quietly. "We need to go soon."_

_"Okay," Maria agreed. She had known it was gonna happen eventually and she was surprised the other girl had played along for such a long time. Her gaze wandered to Michael. **Would she see him again?**Until now he hadn't asked for a date or her cell number and she wasn't sure if she was brave enough to take the first step._

_"I'll distract the skinny friend for a minute, so make the best of it, hmm?"_

_"Yeah," she sighed heavily and watched her leave before she looked at the man in question and forced herself towards him. "So... we kinda need to leave."_

_Michael nodded. He had already expected it, but his heart sank when she really said it. **What now? Should he ask her out for a date? For her cell number? But he didn't even have a cell to call her, nor did he have the money to invite her to dinner or the movies. Wouldn't she just disappear anyway, once she had learned more about him and his background**? He wanted to see her again badly, but there was nothing he could offer for a real date and girls like her wanted real dates. "Okay," he said and felt stupid._

_"Okay," she replied hesitantly. **Was he really not asking for another meeting?**Her disappointment grew with each passing second. "Guess I'll see you around then," she told him, hurt as she lowered her gaze to avoid eye contact any longer. She had been so sure he had felt the same way and he didn't strike her as the type who was to shy to ask for a date if he really wanted to._

_"Get home safe." He hadn't missed the hurt in her eyes and he felt like a total asshole._

_"Bye," she said quickly and turned to leave, waving at his friend before she hurried to Tess, who was already waiting at the door for her._

_"You spent the whole night flirting with her and now you just let her go like that? Seriously?" Kyle asked in disbelief._

_Michael stared after her, well aware of the glare he got from her best friend before they disappeared through the door. He forced his gaze back to his buddy. "What should I do? We both know I have nothing to offer. Man, I can't even invite her for dinner without digging my hole deeper. I'm still behind with the rent from last month."_

_Tess followed her friend outside, who suddenly couldn't get away fast enough. "Um, Maria? What's going on?" They stopped in front of the bar._

_"He didn't say anything," the other girl exploded. "All the flirting back and forth and he just lets me walk away without a phone number or another date?"_

_"He didn't say anything?" Okay, she hadn't expected that after tonight. "Did you ask him for his number?"_

_"No," Maria frowned, irritated._

_"Why not?"_

_"Well, because... I don't know. He started it! He was supposed to ask me!"_

_Tess groaned. "We live in the 21st century, ya know? Go back and ask him to meet you at Boston Common tomorrow."_

_"Why Boston Common?"_

_"Because there's that benefit open air festival where my family's supposed to be..."_

_"And I already told you I'm not going. It's gonna be boring."_

_"Uh-huh, and you owe me for tonight. I had to hang out with you lovebirds and Mr. Skinny, so we're going, DeLuca."_

_"You could be a bit nicer to Kyle, ya know? He was nice to you all night."_

_"I didn't say he wasn't. He's just so thin, Maria."_

_"You are totally exaggerating."_

_Tess snort. "Please, if he was any thinner you could look right through him, but anyway," she waved her hand in front of her, "get yourself together and ask him out, DeLuca."_

_"What if he says no?" Her eyes wandered to the entrance uncertainly._

_"Then at least you don't have to punish yourself later for not trying and we both know you will if ya chicken out now. Besides that, he won't say no." She reached out to give her friend a slight shove towards the door._

_Maria could feel her stomach twist at the thought, but she knew Tess was right. If she just walked away now her thoughts would run over the what-ifs forever. "Okay," she agreed with determination and pushed the door open, walking back inside with strong steps before she could think twice about it. Her gaze wandered over the people inside, but she couldn't see him yet._

_Kyle bumped his friend slightly and nodded at the entrance. "Think she's lookin' for you, man."_

_Michael turned in his seat on the barstool and looked in the direction of his friend's gesture. He almost lost the hold of the unlit cigarette hanging from his lips when he recognized the girl standing there, looking a bit helpless. "I'll be right back."_

_"Yeah, whatever."_

_Finally her eyes collided with his when he was already making his way towards her. It was a good sign, right? Her knees felt weak when he got closer and took her hand to guide her to a semi-quiet corner of the bar. He didn't let go of her hand when they stopped and turned to look at each other._

_Maria's gaze dropped down at their intertwined hands and she thought about how right it felt. A shiver ran down her back when his thumb stretched out to caress her skin. It had to mean something, she told herself and straightened up to meet his eyes. "Would you meet me at Boston Common tomorrow?" she asked and her own voice sounded foreign to her ears. "There's this open air festival where Tess an' I are going. Not really any good music," she rolled her eyes, "but I had to promise her to go there." **Okay, it was out**, she thought nervously._

_He wanted so badly to meet her again, but he had 20 dollars left for the whole next week and there was absolutely no way to spend the money on a festival if he wanted to eat anything._

_"I can't," he started regretfully and held her hand tightly when she wanted to back off. A sigh escaped his lips while he tried to figure out what to tell her and though he was tempted to avoid her eyes, he didn't. **Go with the truth, it's the only way things will work out in case she doesn't run away screaming.**"It's not that I don't want to, but... Look, maybe we can meet somewhere else later?"_

_She frowned. "Why?"_

_Of course she would ask! "Because I don't have the money," he mumbled, embarrassed that he had to admit it._

_"Oh," she said and wondered if she sounded as relieved as she felt. "You don't have to worry about that. Tess' parents are from the organization-team, so we get a free pass, free drinks and free food. Just meet me at the main entrance at 4pm?"_

_It didn't feel right to not offer her a real date, but he nodded anyway. "I'll be there."_

_Maria smiled brightly when he agreed. "Cool, now at least there's something to look forward to."_

_He smirked and agreed with a nod, using their still intertwined hands to bring her closer to him. **Would she protest if he tried anything?**he wondered._

_"How come you're short on money but can afford this?" she asked suspiciously and pulled the cigarette from where it was stuck behind his ear. His body felt nice against her, but it was too soon to give in._

_"Stole 'em from that loser Buck earlier," he told her with a wink. "He deserves worse."_

_"Probably," she said thoughtfully and glanced from the cigarette back to his eyes before she destroyed it by rubbing her fingers together until the tobacco fell out and the paper was ripped apart. His actions gave her more confidence now, so she leaned in closer until her lips almost brushed his cheek. "Tell ya what, Michael. If ya stop smoking, I'll allow you to kiss me next time."_

_He almost had to laugh at her sassiness, which was good, because it forced his focus away from certain other body parts that had come to life. "I'm very lucky if that's all I have to do." He let her free slowly and took a step back to give her more room. **Wait for another day? Yeah he could do that.  
><strong>_  
><em>"You'll stop smoking, just like that?" Maria asked, surprised.<em>

_"The sacrifices I make for you, M," he said, playfully dramatic. Honestly, he doubted that it counted as a sacrifice at all._

* * *

><p>And he had kept his promise and never smoked another cigarette again since that day. It was just one of many things he had done for her willingly without a second thought.<p>

"Punish me as much as you want, Ahmad," Michael grated out. "It won't bring Tahir back and it won't me make regret a thing."

Ibrahim chuckled deeply and walked around to stand in front of him again. He bent down just enough to look straight into his victim's eyes, hands resting flat on his thighs. "I will sure as hell make you regret, Guerin."

"Never."

"Don't be too sure about that," he said coldly. "You might be a tough man, but you have a weak spot." He nodded knowingly. "It's always the same, Guerin. Family, friends, lovers… you western people think you are so smart, but you are not able to stay unaffected."

Michael didn't like where the conversation was going. He was trying to push the right buttons by mentioning people he cared about. _Probably, he was just bluffing. But what if not?_

"Take Valenti… what would you say if I told you he's rotting to death in a little dirty hole right now, only a few kilometres from here?"

"You're lying," the other man grated out and forced his mind to stay away from those thoughts.

"Maybe," Ibrahim shrugged. "Or maybe I'm not. Hard to say from your position, huh?" He laughed coldly. "What about back home, Michael, hmm? We both know you've been away a lot during the last few years, but maybe there is someone waiting?"

"Yeah, your sister's waiting for me, gonna kill 'er?" Michael spit out. He knew he had a sister who had done the unholy and fled to the west. He hated her for betraying the family, but he wasn't able to kill her either.

Ahmad kicked his wounded leg hard at the mention of a family member before he laughed again. "Still playing games with me. I appreciate your bravery. I really do." He started to pace the room again, but kept his eyes focused on his prisoner. "I wonder how much of it will be left when I am done with you, Guerin. You think you know it all and pretend to be the fearless hero, but I am gonna break you." He stood and his eyes darkened. "Too bad you won't make it back home before they start to worry about you, huh? But maybe we can bring someone here? What do you say? A little company is always nice, right?"

Michael tried to stay unaffected. There hadn't been any hint that Ibrahim knew anything. _He was just bluffing. _

The other man in the musty room pulled out a little paper and turned it in his hands. "Not my type, I like dark hair more," he walked over to his shackled victim, leaning forward slowly. "But I can see why you like her. Those lips…" Ibrahim turned the picture he was looking at until it faced away from him.

There wasn't a doubt the Arab wasn't just making things up when Michael saw the bleached picture of his girlfriend in the man's hands. It had been in the sack of his personal things in the Hummer. Even though he didn't want to show how it affected him, he had to close his eyes for a few moments to gain control. His worst nightmares were coming true and he was powerless to prevent anything. Panic crept up, but he forced it to the background again.

Ahmad nodded to himself in satisfaction when it was obvious that the woman in the photo was someone special in his prisoner's eyes. "Don't worry," he said almost gently, but with a cruel grin, "you will see her again."

Suddenly he straightened up and pushed the picture back into his pocket before he turned to head for the exit. "I might be generous and let you watch when I kill her, Michael. You can hold her hand, what do you say?"


	15. Chapter 4A

**Chapter 4**

**1/7/12**

**Chapter 4A**

"You are in way too good a mood for someone getting dragged to a political party," Isabel observed her brother from across the aisle. She put her seatbelt on and crossed her long slim legs over each other, smoothing the red dress with both hands.

Max just shrugged and looked out the window at the landscape that passed by fast. He swallowed a few times when Air Force One took off to get rid of the pressure in his ears and the dizzy feeling in his head. "Had nothing better to do anyway. Plus, I like Boston."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Her brother was NEVER excited about a trip like this. Matter of fact, he hated parties that only involved snobs and politicians. "Excited about seeing Tess Harding maybe?" she guessed. They were the same age and from what she had seen in magazines, she was good looking. Though, she didn't strike her as her brother's type – and she seemed to be way too loud and crazy for a girl fitting for him.

He snorted. "Yeah, why not?"

"I'm gonna find out eventually."

"There's nothing to find out, Iz. If it'll make you feel better, I'll put on the moody look again." _Damn, he was really way too obvious_, but he couldn't control his excitement over meeting Liz again, even if it was hard to say if he would get the chance to talk to her. When they had met that one day in college, she hadn't seemed to be all that pleased with his personality. Anyway, however the night turned out, he had to be careful that his sister didn't get any more ideas. If she found out he would never hear the end of it. Not to mention that the truth about him and Liz would come out with her big mouth.

"Feel free not to," she warned. "That smile fits you better."

"Whatever," he said with an eye roll and glanced around the airplane. "Who's that?" He nodded at the group behind him, not really interested, but it would get her off of his back for now. There was a guy sitting there who he had noticed hanging around the house lately.

"His name's Alex Whitman," Isabel whispered so they wouldn't be overheard. She leaned around a passing crew member to look at her brother. "I googled him and found out that he works at an observatory in Arizona. Not sure why he's here, but he seems to know Ed too."

"Probably here to spy on some country for biological weapons or something," he shrugged. "You know they have those satellites everywhere."

Isabel looked at the man in question and bit her lip. "He doesn't look like someone who fights terror or whatever."

"Most people don't look like that, Iz. Dad doesn't look to me like a president either."

"Well… Alex definitely looks better than most of our guests though, don't ya think? And he's still young."

Max made a face. "Why would you ask ME about that?"

"Because no one else is around, dump head."

"Do you need anything?" a woman from the crew stopped by and asked with a polite smile.

"I'll take a water," Isabel said.

"Nothing for me," her brother denied and opened his seatbelt so he could slouch down when they reached their cruising altitude. Maybe if he closed his eyes his sister would stop bothering him.

Pure darkness surrounded him when he ducked behind a rock formation, wincing when the gravel under his boots crunched with his last step. He pressed his back against the largest of the rocks and peered around it to make sure the sentries hadn't heard anything.

His breath was shallow to make as little sound as possible when he pushed himself forward again. Exhaustion was making him more and more unaware – the past few days alone out in the middle of nowhere were slowly revealing their affects on his body and he knew he couldn't go at the same pace for much longer.

Clouds in the sky made it hard to see anything in the rare moonlight that broke through them, but he knew this place from memory, better than he knew his apartment back home. With large strides across the sand he walked towards one of the bigger tents set up around the camp. He stopped behind it and focused his hearing as he tried to hear any sound inside or near it.

There wasn't anything despite the nocturnal sounds made in the middle of nowhere, so he circled around the tent and slipped into it after making sure all the sentries had their backs to him. _You're doing a poor piss job guys_, he thought.

He didn't know what hit him, but he was suddenly thrown to the ground under a heavy weight. His throat was strangled by a large hand and every effort to push it away failed. "I don't know who you are, but I hope you've already made your last will," a deep male voice growled.

"Co…" the man on the ground tried, but ended up coughing when his throat was still wrapped in a strong hold. A lantern was switched on and held directly in front of his face, so that he had to squeeze his eyes shut. Immediately, his antagonist let go of him and walked a few feet away to light an oil lamp hanging from the roof of the tent.

"Valenti, what the fuck do you think you're doin'?"

Kyle sat up and held one hand around his throat while he tried to compensate for the lack of oxygen a few seconds ago. He didn't fight it when the other man helped him up and roughly shoved him back down on a chair in front of the desk.

"Valenti? I don't think I stuttered."

_Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to come here,_ he thought, but he knew it was his only option. The last few days he had tried to find another clue about Michael's current whereabouts, but he was running in circles and the distance was just getting too great for a single man. "Let me use our computers, Commander," he finally said.

Sullivan snorted and stood in front of him, leaning in close so no one would overhear their conversation. "I told you, you're on your own on this. As far as I'm concerned, you're on leave and not expected to be back for the next two months."

"I got no chance alone," Kyle shook his head.

"We both knew that before." The Commander could see the exhaustion in the young solider in front of him. A week had passed and he wasn't surprised that he hadn't been successful. Although his sympathy went out to him, he knew he couldn't do anything without getting everyone here in trouble. "Go home – there's nothing you can do for your friend."

"No! I came here to ask for help, not to give up."

"And I'm telling you there's no help I can offer."

Kyle glanced around the tent. "Let me use the computer, you don't have to be involved in it."

"I cannot allow that. What do you think you'll find there anyway?"

"Ahmad Ibrahim."

Sullivan froze in place and stared down at the other man coldly. "Ibrahim," he said painfully dragged out. "Why?"

"He's the one responsible for the kidnapping. Guerin's with him." He wiped his sweaty face with the sleeve of his uniform, unaware that he was only spreading the dirt across his skin.

"You sure about that?" The Commander stood tall while his brain was running over so many thoughts at once that it hurt. Ibrahim was a monster, a cruel bastard with no conscience. If it was true, then the kidnapping of one of his best man was probably just the tip of a very ugly iceberg.

"Positive," Kyle nodded and looked directly into his superior's eyes. "Ahmad won't just do a silent job."

There was no doubt he was right, but as long as there was no proof the man was up to something, his hands were tied.

He could see the discord in Sullivan's eyes and pushed further. "Ibrahim is one of our most wanted targets. Nobody will be suspicious if you contact a few people to find out about his current location. I know we have a few contact men as well as spies around the world, a few months ago we were even able to locate a few organizations here that work for him." He stood to come face-to-face with the other man. "Commander, I know I have no right to ask, but information could help to find my friend… your friend, and if someone asks you can always say you were just checking for possible new missions here. Nobody needs to know that looking for Guerin is the reason you're talking to the contact people."

The Commander started to pace through his tent while he weighed the options, and Kyle watched him patiently in hope that his words had been enough to convince him since he didn't have a Plan B. "You don't know what you're asking," Sullivan muttered and then stopped in his tracks. "I'm just doin' this because Guerin an' you have risked you life more than once to save all of asses and it's the only thing I'm gonna do for you."

Relief washed over Kyle in uncontrollable waves. "Of course."

"You stay out of sight while I do this," the older man ordered and pointed at a spot behind the desk. "And I'm gonna kill you myself if you don't obey this order."

Liz' eyes turned to the door when a knock pulled her gaze from the TV screen. "Come in," she said and sat up.

Lucy Parker opened the door quietly and stood in the doorway. "Aren't you getting dressed?"

Liz glanced at her watch and shrugged wordlessly. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. Her mother looked pretty pale to her.

"No, I'm okay," she denied and walked further into the room to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm not allowing you to stay home because of me."

Liz snorted. "I don' t have to ask you, Mom. I'm old enough to make my own decisions." The girl didn't have to hear her mother's agreement to know that the older woman was not feeling good – something that happened all too often. Her hair was lifeless, her eyes had no shine – a very good sign that something was wrong.

"And you're still young enough to enjoy life, so get dressed and have fun with the girls at the party."

"It's not like it'll be a cool party. It'll mostly be old people."

"Liz, don't try to find reasons to stay home to mother me. I am YOUR mother, don't forget that."

"I'm not," she denied. "I'm just worried, can't you understand?"

Lucy sighed sadly. Her daughter was missing so much in her life because of her. "I do understand and I'm telling you I'm fine to be alone."

"You always say that," Liz snorted.

"Go, Lizzie," Lucy said seriously. "Silvie said she would stop by tonight or in the morning anyway, so I won't be alone all the time."

Her daughter looked at her for a few moments before she gave in. "Okay, but just because you're forcing me out and tomorrow I'll complain about it again after some snobbish man wants to whisk me away to Italy or wherever."

"I'll listen to it with delight."

Liz smirked and got on her knees to hug her mother. "Love you, Mom."

"I love you too," she got up again and moved to leave the room, but turned in the door frame. "Now get dressed before Tess shows up in person to get you."

"Doubtful. She texted me earlier and said I should come up with a plan to distract Maria. So obviously she's already over there and Michael hasn't shown up yet."

"The girls' night will do her good. You should wear the olive dress I gave your for Christmas. You never know who'll be there…" Lucy smiled. She wanted to see her daughter with a man who cared about her and who was able to support her.

"Maybe... I'll be back for breakfast." The dress her mother was talking about was a real eye-catcher, but she was waiting for a special moment to wear it. A political party didn't seem to be special at all.

"Don't rush on my account."

Liz got up from her bed after Lucy had left and opened her closet to get the tight black dress out that she had bought a while back. The green one just had to wait.


	16. Chapter 4B

**Chapter 4B**

Kyle's head snapped up when the position he had been dozing in on a chair became too uncomfortable. The Commander had been sitting in front of the computer for almost two hours now, talking to different people and ordering them to contact other people. He glanced at the younger man when he almost fell out of his chair from exhaustion.

"Alright, if that's all," Sullivan sighed and rubbed his face while resting his head on one bent arm on the desk.

"Your chosen are a hard case to crack, Commander," the woman on the other end of the video said with an encouraging smile.

"Didn't have much of a chance to choose anything," he muttered with a shrug.

"I bet," she nodded with sympathy and glanced at her computer. "I think there's something coming in from one of our contacts. Hold on," she lifted a hand and stood up to walk to her printer.

Kyle sat up when he heard the woman's voice even though he couldn't see her. He nodded when the Commander gestured for him to stay where he was.

Jody Sims appeared back on the screen and looked into the camera. "Seems like Ibrahim or one of his closest men was looking for someone situated in the States. We have no name yet though." She frowned at the photo she was holding in front of her.

"At least it could be something," Sullivan leaned forward to turn his printer on. "Can you send the information to me?"

"Sure," Jody nodded and pressed a few buttons on her keyboard. "Sorry I don't have more for you, Sullivan."

He smiled. "Maybe next time, huh?" He checked his mail and nodded when her message came though. "Got it, thanks Miss Sims."

"No problem. I'll stay on the ball and see if I can get you a name soon."

"Thanks," he reached for the power button on the camera. "Until later."

She nodded and smiled at the camera before the connection went off. Sullivan opened the information up and pressed the print button. Immediately the small machine next to him started to make a few annoying sounds before it pulled in the first paper.

Kyle stood up and walked over to stand next to his superior. His muscles hurt and were longing for a few hours of rest, but he refused to give in yet. He was hoping that the little bit of information they had gotten would be enough to interpret something into it. A small sign where to look for Michael in this goddamn huge country.

"This thing takes forever," Sullivan groaned when the printer took its time pulling the first page through. He frowned when it suddenly stopped, paper stuck in the middle, half way printed, half way empty. "What now?"

"Don't ya just hate western technology," Kyle said ironically, giving the machine a light smack with his palm and grinning when it continued its work.

A few minutes later the last page fell to the desk and the Commander lifted the papers up, spreading them in front of them on the desk. "Let's see what we have…" his eyes danced over the photograph and he wondered if the person on it could really have anything to do with his operation or if maybe it was just false information. There wasn't much written text considering the lack of details they could offer him yet. "Not much I guess." He turned to look at the solider next to him. "Sorry, I wish there was something-"

The rest of his sentence stuck in his throat when he recognized the pale look on the other man's face. "Valenti?"

"This's a nightmare," Kyle muttered and felt the sweat breaking out on his back.

"Do you know her?" Sullivan lifted up the photograph of a woman who was probably in her early twenties.

"Yeah," the younger man next to him said hoarsely and met the Commander's eyes with a horrified look. "Her name's Maria DeLuca. She's Michael's girlfriend."

"His…." he looked at the picture again, his expression indicating shock for a moment, but then his brain started to work again and he stood up. "Well, Guerin's just one lucky guy."

"Excuse me?" Kyle asked. He wasn't thinking straight right now, but what could possibly be good about this situation.

"If Ibrahim is looking for her," Sullivan held Maria's picture up, "and we can prove a connection between Michael's abduction and the bastard's interest in her, then we'll be able to send troops out to find our man before worse happens and innocent people become involved."

"It won't be hard to prove a connection between Michael and Maria," the solider said and finally felt a spark of hope again.

The older man nodded. "Exactly."

"You know, other families in our situation would have a nanny for this," Tess complained when her mother walked into her room to tell her that her little brother needed to be put down for the night and she was too busy with the party going on to do it herself.

"Tess," Lisa Harding sighed, "I told you before I won't let a nanny rear my kids. Daniel's tired; you won't have a lot of work with him."

"Come on T." Maria got up from the chair in front of the desk. "We'll put the little troublemaker down for the night."

"You don't have to be on my mother's side all the time, ya know?" Tess complained when the women smirked at each other.

"I'm not, I just like him and he's really no work at all."

"Thank you, Maria," Lisa smiled at her. "I'm really glad you decided to stay in Boston when Amy moved to Roswell. My daughter would be even more trouble without you here."

"Mom!"

"No problem," Maria waved her of. "Oh, I forgot. She wanted me to say hi to you and asked me to remind you that you promised to come out to the desert this year."

"We will, we will," Lisa assured her. "How's she doing in that little town?"

"Good," the girl rolled her eyes. "Too good if you ask me. She's getting the hippie vibe again."

The older woman laughed. "It'll be fun to visit. It sounds like she made the right decision."

"Yeah," Maria smiled. She was happy that her mother was getting along very well in the Alien-themed town.

"And Michael?" Lisa asked carefully.

"That's the wrong question, Mom," Tess insisted and rushed her out. "No need to ruin her mood even more," she hissed when they were alone in the room.

"Darling?" Ed appeared in the hallway. "Where are you? Everyone's waiting for you."

"I'm coming," she said and turned to her daughter again. "You girls should distract her as much as you can."

"Is Parker here yet?"

"I'll have a look," Lisa promised and walked off to the party.

Tess turned and looked into her room again, sighing when she saw her friend was staring out the window with a sad face again. "My mother really doesn't know when it's better to silent."

Maria turned to face her. "Don't blame her. "

"Come on, M. We'll put my brother down and then we'll drown your worries with a lot of wine and Jäger." She walked into the room and grabbed her hand to drag her. "He'll come home to you. It's just taking a bit longer this time."

"Yeah," the other girl agreed and got up to follow Tess into her brother's room.

"Hey, what're you doin'?" Tess shrieked and hurried over when the little boy was about to play Tarzan and use the curtains as his vine to climb out of his crib. "He gets the wildest ideas," she said, her tone a bit amused when she wrapped her arms around him to peel him off of the fabric before he could pull down the whole pole.

"Wow, look at those strong arms, huh?" Maria said and pinched the little boy gently on his right one.

Daniel forgot all about complaining about the disturbance and giggled happily. "M." He leaned forward as much as Tess allowed him.

"Come here, D." she took him from his sister and kissed his temple.

Tess smiled when her brother hugged Maria tightly and rested his head against her shoulder. "Mom was right, he's tired."

"Yeah," her friend agreed and rocked him in her arms slightly.

A soft knock was heard and a moment later Liz stuck her head into the room. "Hey, girls."

"Hey E." Tess waved her in. "What took you so long?"

"Just couldn't decide what to wear," she lied, not really wanting to talk about her worries for her mom right now.

"You look good," Maria told her quietly, since Daniel was already beginning to drift off. "Seen any worthy men outside yet?"

"Just got here and came to you girls since Lisa told me you were here, but I guess there's not one really worthy around anyway."

"Don't say that," Tess complained. "I heard the President's son is here…"

"Max Evans?" Liz asked, surprised.

"That's the one, E."

"He looks nice, I read an article about him in a magazine recently," Maria thought aloud.

Liz didn't reply to that. The girls didn't know that the two of them had already had a little encounter at the university a while back and though she did think he looked okay, she wouldn't admit it in front of Tess. She would try to get them together from the moment she knew and she could really spare herself that embarrassment. Seriously, the President's son would have more interesting women to date and she really didn't want a boy who had no time for her anyway.


	17. Chapter 4C

**Chapter 4C**

The sound of a spoon tapping against a wine glass drew the attention of everyone in the huge dining hall, making them stop their current conversations and look up. They all looked to the man of the evening when he got up.

Ed Harding smiled at his guests. "Welcome everyone," he opened his speech. "Well, it seems like I'm getting old, huh?"

A few chuckles and laughter could be heard among the crowd. Tess glanced at her two best friends next to her at the table and rolled her eyes. "I hope he's not planning to drag this out, I'm starving."

"Shhh," Maria slapped her shoulder to make her shut up.

Ed continued his speech and once it turned into a political theme all three girls lost interest. "M," Tess called to get her attention. "I got the feeling E's been watched all night," she nodded over the table.

The other girl followed the direction of her gaze and saw the President's son. He was staring down at his plate, obviously just as bored with the speech as they were, but now and then his gaze would lift up for a second. "Yeah seems like," she agreed when he was definitely looking in Liz' direction most of the times.

"Well, he's definitely candy for the eye," Tess said, amused. "Not my type, but could be hers."

Since the brunette had never really had a boyfriend at all in her life it was hard to say what her type really was. She had always been too worried and focused on the health of her mom to really allow anyone close enough.

"What're you guys talking about?" Liz leaned in and whispered. She really hoped that Ed would put an end to it soon. The food smelled delicious and politics were really boring.

"Nothing," they said at the same time.

"Uh-huh," she lifted an eyebrow. "And you don't think I think that's suspicious?"

They were interrupted when everyone stood, holding up their glasses towards the birthday man. "Finally," Tess said, relieved.

"Thank you all for coming and let's enjoy dinner and the night together."

"Cheers," everyone said, a few louder than the others.

The three girls turned to each other and touched their glasses together. "Cheers ladies," the curly blonde said. "To a hopefully enjoyable night."

"That has yet to be seen," Liz snorted.

"Don't be so negative, Parker."

"Shut up, both of you," Maria said. "Your job is to distract me."

"Copy that," Tess said and saluted playfully. She dragged her friends with her. "Come on, let's get something from the buffet before the President does." She lowered her voice. "I've heard he's always very hungry."

Liz rolled her eyes – _she really had a story for everything and everyone,_ she thought, amused as she fell back a bit so Tess wouldn't make her eat any of the gross seafood again, which she thought was so delicious.

She took one of the smaller plates from a stack and went along the set up tables to glance over the sumptuous amount of food Ed had ordered for the party. _This must have cost a few thousand dollars_, what a waste, considering probably half of it would be thrown away the next day.

At a platter of small nibbles of different meat, vegetables and cheese, combined with baguette, she stopped and put a few of them on her plate. She tried to use the tongs to grab it, but soon grew tired of it when it kept falling down and quickly used her own hands. Once she was satisfied with what she had, she brought her index finger to her mouth and licked it to remove a little spot of butter.

Max quickly looked away, worrying that his body would show too much of a reaction to that gesture. _Damn, what had he been thinking following right behind her at the buffet?_

"Nice," Liz muttered when she saw a watermelon on the table, shaped like a little sculpture of Ed. _People obviously spent a lot of time with that buffet_. She reached out for a napkin to take with her and cursed when she accidently grabbed two and one slowly glided to the floor.

While she balanced her full plate in one hand, she bent down to get it. Her eyes grew wide when her ass bumped into someone behind her though. Quickly, she grabbed the napkin and straightened up. For a moment she considered just walking off and pretending she hadn't noticed it, but that would be really rude.

Max swallowed hard when she slowly turned around and thanked God he had chosen to wear tight boxers under his tux this afternoon_. Play it cool_, he told himself. "Seems like history repeats itself, huh?" he asked her with a wink, remembering their little encounter at the university. The similarities were almost ridiculous.

Liz' face turned red when she noticed that it was the second time she had bumped her ass right into Max Evans. _Now he's gonna think you're insulting him sexually_, she immediately thought. _Great, Parker._

The fact that she was looking so uncomfortable actually made him more comfortable and he smirked. "You know what they say. After the third time you gotta buy me a drink."

She wasn't sure what to think about him. He definitely wasn't mad at her for bumping him, _but what exactly was he? Was he trying to flirt with her or was it just arrogance_? "I'm sorry," she said with a slight smile.

He watched, amazed at the way her features turned from embarrassed, to confused, and finally to a bit flirtatious.

"I guess I'd better hurry then and do that tonight, this way the drink will be free for me as well."

"Just let me know when to follow you," he said, amused and glad things weren't as awkward as he expected.

"Okay," Liz chuckled and walked to her seat again, rolling her eyes when she realized the girls had watched every second of the show and started to ask questions as soon as she sat down.

It was shortly after 9:30pm when the president walked up behind Ed's chair and squeezed his shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He nodded towards the hallway off of the dining hall.

The other man frowned at his serious expression, but nodded. "Sure." He followed Philip wordlessly, almost sure that it had to do with their newest discovery in the universe. They stopped at the end of the hallway, where it separated into two different directions. "What's going on?"

"It just seems like disturbing dispatches continue to occur these days," Philip wiped his face.

"Something new about the asteroid?"

"No, that's not it this time."

Ed frowned, not liking that it was obviously a new problem. "Alright, just bring it on, I guess."

"We have news out of Afghanistan about the missing solider."

_That couldn't be good news,_ the Secretary of Defence thought and prayed slightly that they wouldn't have to bring a message of Michael Guerin's death to the girl at his party. Slowly, he nodded and straightened his body to be prepared for whatever it was.

"It seems like he's been taken by Ahmad Ibrahim."

"Good God," Ed muttered and brought both hands over his face for a moment. On the one hand he was relieved that they obviously hadn't found him dead, but being with Ibrahim was probably as good as dead. "Some higher power seems to be against us these days."

Philip looked down the corridor to make sure no one had followed them. "We have experience from encounters with that man and we know they've all turned out ugly for us."

"That bastard's definitely high on my list of people I'd like to see in hell."

"I'm not quite sure how Commander Sullivan got that information, but as much as I hate to disturb your birthday party, Ed, I need you to get a few of your men stationed here in Boston."

"Of course." The other man frowned. "But what should their orders be?"

"Their order will be to find Michael Guerin's girlfriend and give her personal protection until we figure out where to hide her. We have grounds to believe that Ibrahim is coming after her as well."

Panic rose up in the Secretary as he took in all the new information. If Maria was a potential target for that bastard, then his own daughter would be in danger as well. "We don't have to look far for her."

"Excuse me?" Philip asked, puzzled.

"Miss DeLuca is here. She's my daughter's best friend."

The president could easily see the worry in Ed's eyes. He rested both of his hands on the other man's shoulder and made him look at him. "That's good. We have the best men here for protection and I came here with a few more people from the Secret Service than I usually have on my detail, so you show me who she is and I'll let my men know to look after her and your daughter for the night. We'll figure out more once everyone else is gone."

"Alright. What do we tell Maria?"

"Nothing for now. We don't want other people to get suspicious, so just let her enjoy the party. Is she staying at your house for the night?"

"I assume she is."

"Good. In the morning we'll figure out how much we'll tell her and what we're gonna do with her as long as she's in potential danger."

"Alright," Ed agreed, but was sure he couldn't enjoy another second of his party now. "We should speak to the Commander and his unit again. If this is true, we should start to look for Corporal Guerin. As long as Ibrahim has him, we have to consider everything."

"Those orders are already out." He smiled encouragingly when his friend looked at him in surprise. "I might not be a genius in military tactics, but that wasn't hard to figure out, and if I remember right, you think very highly of Commander Sullivan. So let him do his job at the other end of the world and we'll do ours here."

A door was opened fully when the men started to walk back to the party and Tess stepped out. She hadn't understood a lot of the conversation considering the distance, but she had heard a few words like military, army and also… Maria's name. Did that have something to do with Michael staying away? And more important, should she tell her best friend about it?


	18. Chapter 4D

**Chapter 4D**

Liz sipped her wine while she stared at nothing in particular. She could feel the affects of the alcohol on her body even though she'd only had three glasses. Her cheeks felt like they were glowing and her head felt just the slightest bit dizzy.

"Parker?" Tess asked for the third time and bumped her shoulder to get her attention.

"Huh?" She looked puzzled. "What?"

"Are you done staring holes in the air?" the blonde rolled her eyes. "Where's Maria? She said she wanted to go to the bathroom but that was half an hour ago."

"I don't know," Liz frowned and tried to think straight. "Pr-aybe outside?" She guessed, not even realizing she mixed to words up. "You know she's down because of Michael, so she might've just needed some air."

"Praybe, huh?" Tess said amused. "You should watch your liquor, E."

"Shut up, Harding." She got up from her seat and placed her glass aside, frowning when the floor under her moved for a second. _The lack of food today was obviously showing its affects,_ she thought and shook her head. "I'm gonna get some air an' see if she's in the backyard."

"Okay. Get me if she's fallen into a depressed mood again, okay? We can't let that happen again." _Especially not after what I might or might not have overheard, _she added in her thoughts worriedly.

"Sure," Liz agreed and made her way through the big dining hall, carefully taking each step in her high heels to not get into any awful embarrassing situation, like falling flat on her face in front of everyone.

She shivered slightly when she opened the double doors in the living room that led to the garden. The cold breeze immediately invaded her body but she decided that it could only be good to get sober again. Her feet carried her over to the pool and she looked around to see if her friend was there. "M'ria?"

"'s nobody out here," came from behind her.

Liz whirled around quickly, startled by the male voice she hadn't expected to hear. She automatically took a slight step backwards, but teetered when one of the spiked heels of her shoes got caught in the drain grate around the pool.

Max yelped and reacted quickly, reaching out to wrap his arms around her before she could take a less-than-delicate dive into the cold pool. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Her arms came around him to steady herself and as soon as the first moment of surprise was over, she started to laugh at the situation. "Damn, that was tense, huh?"

He smirked as well, relieved that she wasn't mad at him. "You can say that again." His eyes gave her the once over. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I think I'm good."

Reluctantly, he let go of her and took a step back to give her space. "Isn't it too cold out for this?" He gestured at her short dress, his eyes lingering just a moment too long on her slim, bare legs.

She immediately shivered, but couldn't decide if it was because of the wind or his heated gaze on her. _He's the presidents son,_ she reminded herself. "It is a bit cold," she agreed and wrapped her arms around herself. "I was looking for a friend, but obviously she's not here."

"The blonde with the green dress?" he guessed. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be Maria – the girl with the boyfriend who hasn't gotten home yet.

"Yeah," she frowned and felt the little jealousy in her when he immediately knew who she meant.

"She was out here when I came out," he pointed at one of the deck chairs. "Looked a bit upset but I could be wrong." He hated to pretend that he had no clue of what was going on, when in truth, he knew so much about the woman in front of him and her friends.

Liz nodded, not really surprised by the news. "And what're you doing out here? The weather really isn't the best." Her teeth chattered slightly while she spoke.

Max bit his lips. All he wanted to do in that moment was to wrap his arms around her again to warm her up, but that would be a bit too weird, right? "Needed some air…" he shrugged and glanced back at the door before he looked at her again with a slight smirk. "To be honest, I needed a break from all the snobs and their political crap," he whispered.

"Yeah," she laughed at his confession, surprised to hear words like that out of his mouth. "I know what you mean."

_I am going straight to hell_, he thought to himself when he used his knowledge of her to make jokes and get some sympathy points in her book. There was no way around it though. Liz Parker had something that attracted him in every way.

She saw his eyes moving over her again and while she would have felt insulted by other men, she felt kind of worshipped by him. His gaze was dark and sensual, but at the same not too intrusive.

_I should have brought my coat with me_, he thought, annoyed when he had nothing to offer to keep her warmer.

"E," Tess opened the door and called for her friend, biting her lip when she recognized what she had interrupted. "Have you found her?"

"She was here, but she's gone now. Not sure where she went."

"Alright. I'll look for her. Go on with what you were doing." She made a waving gestured and disappeared again.

Liz rolled her eyes at her friend's less than subtle remark. "You must excuse her; she's got a big mouth."

"I see," Max said, amused since he already knew that. "But guess she can't be all that bad since you seem to be friends."

"She has her moments," she agreed. It was really freaking cold without a jacket, but on the other hand she really didn't want to go inside again just yet.

He could see her shivering badly and tried to come up with a solution that would warm her and at the same time would make her stay with him a bit longer. All night she had pretty much ignored him after their dinner encounter and he was sure that it would be over again if she decided to fo back inside_. Think, Evans!_ "Do the Harding's have blankets in their pool house?"

"I think so, we can look," she agreed, glad that he had suggested finding something to get warm again.

He released the breath he didn't know he was holding. "You can walk on your own over there?" His voice was teasing.

Liz rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder with a laugh. "Thank you, I'm perfectly fine."

Tess walked into the direction of her room, almost certain that she would find her missing friend there. The thoughts in her head were spinning around like crazy as she tried to decide if she should mention her father's and the president's conversation earlier. It wasn't really that she knew anything considering that she had only heard a few fragments, but she was almost sure that it had been about her friend and Michael.

Quietly and slowly, she opened the door to her room, just in case Maria had been falling asleep. She nodded to herself when the swath of light from the hallway fell into the room right over her friend's slim frame on the bed.

It hurt to see her like this and there wasn't anything she could do to make it better. She closed the door just as quietly, kicked her pumps off and crawled on the bed. "Hey M," she greeted gently when the illuminated cell phone on the mattress indicated that Maria wasn't sleeping. "Hiding out here?" She brushed some of her girlfriend's long blonde hair out of her face and leaned over her body from behind to look at her.

"Sorry," the other girl answered quietly and turned her upper body slightly to look at Tess. "I don't wanna be mean, but I'm really not in a party mood."

"I know, but being alone in here will just add more fuel to the fire because you're thinking too much, M."

"Two people have already asked me about Michael and how he's doing, ya know?" She swallowed. "I can't take the questions anymore. What am I supposed to say?"

"Well, that he'll be home soon maybe?" Tess suggested, trying to encourage her, but the truth was her own doubts had already started. She wouldn't admit that in front of her though.

Maria sighed deeply and looked at her friend. "I can't." She rolled her eyes. "I think I'm starting to get paranoid, ya know? I felt like I was being watched, as if someone's following me. Stupid!"

_Maybe it wasn't that stupid_, Tess thought to herself. More proof that she wasn't totally wrong about her suspicion that something was going on. "What were you looking at?" she asked to distract her and leaned over her to glance at the cell.

"Some pictures," Maria answered and lifted it up to show her. "Do you remember this one?" Her face lit up with a smile.

Tess snorted. "How could I forget that? You stretched my nerves to take it that night at the bar."

"I had to have a pic of him."

"Uh-huh, and instead of going the easy way and just asking him you had me pretending to take a pic of you while I tried to catch him in the background."

"We weren't together at the time. I couldn't just ask him for a pic. We had only just met, so how weird would that have been?"

"Oh please, that whole night was weird. The pic would've been the most normal thing compared to the creepy bar we were at."

"A bar you chose," Maria reminded her.

"That's right. And have you thanked me yet for making such a significantly important choice that had led to a milestone in your life?" She looked at her, amused. "Nope, I don't think so."

"Of course I did. Like a thousand times, but somehow you just think I should worship you until the end of the world."

"Shut up," Tess laughed and took her cell, hitting the touch screen to look at the next picture. "Where's this?" she asked and showed Maria a picture of her and Michael that was obviously one of the older ones.

"You don't know that? It was taken on our first date. Ya know, when you dragged me to Boston Common to that stupid benefit thing your parents were having and I met Michael there."

"Thanks to me. AGAIN."

"You are so generous, Tess."

"I know," she waved her off and looked at the picture again. "Doesn't look like Boston Common."

"No, it was taken at Yacht Harbour. We went there later that day."

Tess snorted. "I remember the little you mentioned it back then." She rolled her eyes when Maria looked confused. "I was kidding. Please! I can still tell every detail of your first date, because you told me like two hundred times afterwards."


	19. Chapter 4E

**Chapter 4E**

"_DeLuca, relax, will ya?" Tess rolled her eyes when her friend's figure was tensed like a bow. "It's only 3:50, he'll be here."_

"_What makes you so sure?" Maria wiped her sweaty hands on her tight bleached blue jeans while they stood on the main entrance of Boston Common's benefit festival. The weather wasn't pleasant at all. Temperatures were pretty low on the spring day in April of 2007 and it had been rainy pretty much all day. _

"_The looks he gave you last night maybe?" _

"_Could've just been some heat of the moment thing." She had been sure about their date last night as well, but things always looked different after you had slept a night and the doubts came with the morning. It wasn't like a dismissal from him would be the end of the world, but she really wanted to meet him again badly. _

"_He'll come," Tess said, her voice leaving no room for another option. _

_Maria just nodded and wrapped her arms around herself to get warmer. Maybe she should have worn her windbreaker, but the thing really didn't flatter her figure and this was casual, she had wanted to look good on her first official date with him. _

"_I think that's him, hmm?" Tess said, amused as she nodded ahead of them._

_Her friend's head snapped up and she scanned the place full of people until her eyes focused on a guy, still about 100 feet away from them. "Yeah," she smiled, relieved. _

_Michael had already noticed her the moment he had come around the corner. Her slim figure looked just a bit nervous, but it could also be the cold wind, he decided. Relaxation washed over him when he noticed her clothes were casual just like his. He had wondered for half an hour what to wear to a benefit festival, but since his options had been pretty limited anyway, he had decided on a pair of comfortable jeans, sneakers, a back t-shirt and his black jacket with the high collar when it was zipped up. _

_With every step he took, he wondered what to say or do when he finally reached the girls, but nothing came to mind, so he decided to just come up with something spontaneously. _

"_Oh my god, you already look like twins," Tess muttered and rolled her eyes when she realized they both wore sneakers, jeans, and a jacket combo, all in the same colors. _

"_Blue jeans and black jackets aren't really rare," Maria said and didn't admit that she had just thought the same a few second ago. _

"_Get the stick outta your ass and loosen up," the other girl muttered when Michael was only a few feet away._

"_Shut up," she hissed back and smiled at him, her heart beating a mile a minute those last few seconds before he greeted her._

_His worries flew away when he noticed her nervousness. He had never really participated in dating, but he wasn't a total loser with the ladies either. "Hey M," he greeted her with a slight smirk on his lips. He stood and waited to see what her body language would tell him to do. _

_**I like what he calls me**, she decided. "Hey, Michael," she replied with a soft voice, her arms at her sides. _

_Okay, body contact would be welcome, he realized and leaned in to hug her before awkwardness had a chance to break out. "You look a bit cold," he said quietly and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. _

"_Yeah, the weather could be better for an open air festival I guess," she replied, though she didn't feel the slightest bit cold in that moment. _

_Michael took the offered opportunity and one of his arms remained around her, while he turned to face her friend. "Tess."_

"_Hi, Michael," she greeted him. _

"_We're about to have company," Maria told her, her tone not one of excitement, and nodded behind her. "Brian Clayton on his way…"_

_Tess grinned saucily. "I knew he couldn't stay away for long." She had been flirting back and forth with him on several occasions now and while he tried to play it cool, she knew he was interested. The guy was one of the hottest guys in school, although she had no intention of hooking up with him for anything real. He was pretty snobbish and self-centred to be honest, but there was nothing wrong with some flirting. _

"_Michael, meet the biggest tinhorn in Boston," she whispered quietly and leaned her body against his lightly. _

_He just snorted and watched the scene, tightening his grip around her when she sought his body heat. _

_Brian smiled smugly when he stopped close to them. "Harding," he greeted Tess and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I like your tight jeans," he whispered in her ear._

_**He was so easy**, she thought, amused. "I know you like them, Clayton. Every male does."_

"_Wanna show me what's under them?" he growled. "Maybe tonight?"_

"_Hmm, depends I guess."_

"_Depends on what?"_

"_On the supply of hot men around here today."_

_Brian snorted and held his arms away from his sides. "Baby, I am the hottest guy around here."_

_Maria couldn't help but snort loudly at that, earning a glare from him immediately. _

"_Got a problem, DeLuca?" _

_Michael didn't like the way he talked to her or looked at her, but he had a feeling she could hold her own against him pretty well, so he stayed quiet for now. **No need to fuck everything up just a few seconds after his arrival,** he thought. _

"_You mean other than you?" she countered. _

"_Um-hmm, we're not getting into that," Tess decided. She knew her friend and Brian hated each other and it could get ugly if they weren't separated. "Why don't we go and get a hot drink, Clayton?" _

_He grinned and hugged one arm around her. "Sure, Sexy. Let's go."_

_She smiled and got rid of his arm for a moment to walk to Maria. "I'm gonna distract him for a while and we'll meet in front of the stage in an hour, okay? Here's the VIP ticket. Free entry, free food, and free drinks. " _

_Maria nodded and made a face. "I really don't know what you want from the guy, Tess."_

"_Just sex," she admitted with a smirk and walked off. _

_Michael almost laughed at that, but fought it and it ended up as a snort instead. He lifted his hand in excuse, when Maria looked at him suspiciously. "Well, at least she's honest I guess."_

"_She's exaggerating." Even though Tess mostly went after the things she wanted, she doubted she was really planning to have sex with Clayton. He was just too much of a self-centred prick. _

_He shrugged. "Couldn't care less as long as that dick stays away from you." His grip around her tightened just a tiny bit as he spoke._

_She smirked at his slightly possessive tone. "Wanna go and get something to drink too? I've heard they sell hot chocolate and something hot really sounds good right now."_

"_Already got something hot," he teased and laughed at her blush. His arms came around her for a moment to warm her up when he felt her shivering. _

_Maria smiled to herself at his gesture and held her arms in front of herself between both of them to get warmer. _

"_Come on", he released her after a few seconds and grabbed one of her cold tiny hands, which totally disappeared in his. "Let's go and find a hot chocolate for you, M." _

"_Sounds good," she agreed. Things between them had started out pretty good and Michael made it really easy for her to fall for him. _

"Got one," Liz held up a blanket triumphantly after they had looked around for about 10 minutes. "Just one, but it's a big one."

Max nodded with a grin and walked over to take it from her. They walked back outside to the pool and he used his free hand to drag one deck chair next to another. "Wait, I saw some cushions inside," he said and hurried back inside the pool house to get them.

"Sure," she waited patiently, even though the cold wind was creeping into every part of her body right now and it would be really hard to get warm again.

"Here ya go," Max placed the cushions on the chairs and motioned for her to take a seat. "I'm gonna get a drink. Want me to get ya something too?" After she had gotten comfortable, he spread the blanket and wrapped it around her.

"Do they have anything warm?"

"I don't know. I can check."

Liz nodded. "Thanks."

"Anything else?"

"No, I guess I'm good." She watched him leave, his pace a bit hurried. _What am I doing here?_ she wondered. _I'm making small talk with the president's son and we're hanging out in the fucking cold. Although, he seemed to be pretty nice and uncomplicated – something she hadn't expected from him. _Her hand wandered under her blanket to get her cell out of the tiny clasp she had with her. While he was still inside, she took the chance to check her emails, to see if William might have left a message. Her disappointment was right there when there was no new message in her box or on the messenger, but she convinced herself that it was only because he was busy tonight as well.

Quickly she opened a new email and typed in a small message for him to read later, when he got home.

_Hey Willi, _

_How's your evening going? _

_Mine's okay, pretty boring party as I told you._

She considered for a moment mentioning that she was actually enjoying the presence of a young man, but then decided that it was probably nothing she should tell HIM. Quickly, she hit the send button and shoved her cell back into the small bag because Max was already on his way outside again, carrying two drinks.

"They only had hot glogg. I didn't know if you'd like it, but I brought one anyway."

"I guess it's better than nothing," she shrugged and took one fuming mug from him, wrapping both of her hands around it. _Hopefully this won't totally knock me out,_ she thought when she remembered the affects of the alcohol earlier.

"It's not that bad," he agreed when he sipped on it before he took a seat on the deck chair next to her.

"You want some blanket?" Liz asked when he didn't move to get under it right away.

Max looked at her with his chocolate brown eyes, hardly able to suppress his reaction to her invitation. "If it's okay with you?" he rasped.

The tone of his voice sent a slight electric shock right to her heart and though she tried to ignore the feeling, she knew pretty well that her attraction to him was growing with every passing minute they spent together. _He's the president's son_, she reminded herself, _he's not interested in normal boring girls like you and you don't want someone like him_. "I'm good," she finally agreed after leaving a weird interval of silence between her answer and his question.

"Okay," he hoped she couldn't tell how happy and nervous he was about that.

"Despite the chance that a camera team could show up as soon as you do and tomorrow I'll see my face in one of the newspapers with the headline: "Who's the girl next to Max Evans?" She used her free hand to underline the words with a wave through the air.

He snorted and lifted the blanket to crawl under it, liking the fact that it brought them automatically closer together. "As long as here's so many secret service agents around there'll be no one with a camera closer than 300 feet. My father makes sure of that."

"Good."

She really wasn't comfortable with a lot of attention, he noticed. It was too bad though, because she was beautiful like hell and while she cared so much about others, she forgot herself most of the time. "Also I'd enjoy finding out what they'd read into it," he said with a wink.

"I don't know. The press can be a bitch and it might be something like: What does Max Evans want from a girl like her?"

He shook his head and leaned his back against the raised backrest of the chair. "More like: Who's the mysterious beauty next to Evans?" Her slight blush didn't slip his notice after what he said and he turned to look at her with a shrug. "There are worse things than being in a newspaper with a girl who looks like you."

The heat in her cheeks got worse when his eyes wandered over her face in a slow move. "Think so? Was there ever anything about you in the press that you were embarrassed about?" she asked to take the attention away from her.


	20. Chapter 4F

**Chapter 4F**

"Was there…" Max snorted. "Don't tell me ya didn't read any newspapers last summer."

Liz shrugged. She had never really cared about the news, well not the celebrity news anyway. "Can't remember anything, but want to refresh my memory maybe?" She sipped her hot drink and enjoyed it when the liquid caused a warm feeling in her stomach.

"Well, considering that you're probably the only human being in the world who obviously doesn't know about it, I think I'll just keeping it to myself," he smirked teasingly.

"Oh, come on," she bumped him with her shoulder. "That's not fair. Besides that, google know everything, so all I have to do is take out my cell and start the research. I am sure there are pics as well…"

He sighed and stopped her hand before she could take it out – his touch resting on her just a moment longer than necessary. "Fine, I'm gonna tell you if that means you won't google it later."

She lifted two fingers. "I swear." Although, she would decide later if it was worth googling.

"Alright," he straightened up. "Last summer my family and I went to Orange County. My father bought a house there a few years ago. It's not very large, but it is set on a small hill above the ocean and I think it's much nicer than the White House, but you got a lot more privacy there."

"Sounds like a good domicile for the summer," she agreed. "Must be nice to have like multiple places where you can live."

Max shrugged, knowing her attitude towards rich people. "It is nice, but you don't really have time to enjoy it. I'd prefer one quiet house where no one would bother me when I'm in the garden or whatever. Anyway, my sister hates the house in Orange County because she just has a small room, she has to share her bathroom with everyone, and it's too quiet for her up there."

"Yeah, she strikes me as a party queen," Liz snorted and then realized her ironic tone. "Uh, sorry, no offense."

He laughed. "None taken. And I love her, but she can be a pain in the ass. She likes to play around with the press and wants to be in as many newspapers as possible, while I avoid them."

"So… there's nothing embarrassing yet," Liz pushed.

"Impatient?" He chuckled. "We were up there for over a week or so already and you could tell Isabel was slowly but surely going crazy. She was bored like hell and ran around complaining about everything and everyone. Dad doesn't want us to drive in the city a lot. We don't have as much secret service with us up there and it just wouldn't be really safe. I'm fine with it, but my sister… whole different story. The problem is, when she is bored, she gets a lotta stupid ideas." He rolled his eyes. "One morning we had a fight about whatever during breakfast and afterwards she blocked the bathroom for hours, so I gave up yelling from outside the door and went to use the small bathroom with the shower in the pool house."

"Uh-huh. Is this where the embarrassing thing starts?"

"Not yet," he made a face. "The house is built with four walls, two of them are glass and totally moveable as well as half of the roof. So when there's bad weather or overnight we have an indoor pool within those four walls and during the day we can open it up on two sides so the pool is outside."

"Very practical," she commented.

"Yeah… most times." He shook his head. "Anyway, long story short, I went to shower and my sister thought it'd be funny to open the house up and steal my clothes."

"Ouch," Liz giggled and almost choked on her drink.

"When I stepped out, I really had no clue, so I didn't bother to… ya know, hide anything with a towel."

Her eyes grew wide when she pictured it. "Oh…"

"Yeah… A few photographers had made it up the hill to the borders of our property, but they have those telescopic lenses and I stood there… naked and without anything to wear, trying to make sense to what had happened. I really hadn't expected the pool house to be open and I had to run about 30 feet to get into the house."

Liz couldn't help but laugh hard at the image. "Sorry," she tried to get control back, but every time she looked at him, laughter broke out again.

"You think that's funny huh?" He tried to act insulted, though he thought how wonderful her careless laugh sounded in his ears. "Bad thing was, it wasn't only in the newspaper, no, it was on TV as well."

"Really?" Liz laughed even harder. "That's bad. Really bad."

Max snorted. "Ya think? Humiliating would fit better. And ya know what really sucked?"

"What?" she asked.

"That my parents were mad at ME…. ME, ya know. Not Isabel, no."

"Talk about unfair, huh?" She wiggled around to wrap her feet into the blanket even more.

"Yeah, best day of my life," he told her with sarcasm and relaxed on the chair again, enjoying the chance to talk to Liz carelessly, even though she had no clue who he was. Or better yet, who he ALSO was.

"_Okay, you're off of girlfriend duty today," Tess said to her best friend. It was already after 7pm and the benefit concert was coming to an end slowly._

"_You sure?" Maria's gaze wandered to Michael, who was standing a few feet away from them; the side of his body rested against a tree, while his hands were shoved into his pants pockets. They had been together for the whole afternoon and she wasn't looking forward to ending their first date yet. And he hadn't said anything about hanging out after the concert yet and she was really starting to wonder why. He had to like her, right? The last few hours he had tried to make body contact in more than one way, but the conversation was lacking now and then. _

"_Yeah, go ahead and make the rest of the day a real date," Tess encouraged her. "I'll be outta here soon too."_

"_Not with Clayton I hope."_

_The other girl laughed at the gagging sound her friend made. "No, no. I pawned him off on Michelle Davis when I couldn't handle his narcissism anymore."_

"_Thank God. He's really unbearable."_

"_But sexy," Tess threw in._

"_Well, maybe, but he really lacks in all the other ways." Her eyes wandered back to her date._

_Tess followed her view and rolled her eyes. "And Michael is prince charming, huh?"_

"_Didn't say that, but at least he's not as self-important."_

"_You trust him enough to spend the rest of the day alone with him?" He seemed more harmless in the daylight, thought there was something mysterious about him, she had to admit that much._

"_I think I'm good," Maria nodded. **Maybe he's not even planning to hang out with me any longer anyway.**_

"_Alright, then go and enjoy the night and later you'll call me and give me the details."_

"_I could do that."_

"_Not could," Tess denied. "You will!"_

"_Alright fine. I'm gonna call you," Maria agreed and hugged her friend before she left to go back to Michael. _

"_You were right," he said, when she came back._

"_About what?"_

"_The music's really bad." His eyes wandered down to meet hers and he smirked. "So, so bad."_

_She shrugged with a smile. "Told you so. But you can relax, the concert's as good as over. No more bad stuff to listen to."_

"_Can't say I'm sorry about that," he snorted and pushed himself from the tree to walk towards her. "Got any plans for the rest of the day?"_

_**He's so huge**, she thought when he stopped right in front of her. Last night the height difference had been less because of the high heels she had worn, but now her face was only at the height of his chest. Her head fell back when she looked up at him. "Was hoping I had plans with you," she said quietly. _

_A smiled played around his lips when he grasped her hands and guided her arms behind her own back while he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. "Well, if that's so, I guess I'll stay."_

_Maria could feel her knees weaken in response to his closeness. "What do ya want to do?"_

_He lifted his head again and looked around while he thought about something. His eyes met hers again after a minute. "You up for some walking?" Michael was glad she still wanted to stay with him. All afternoon he hadn't been very talkative and if they had talked, it had been all about her. He knew if he wanted to have a chance of keeping her, he had to reveal who he really was and the sooner he did, the sooner he would know if she could live with it or not. He didn't like the thought of talking to her about his life and the circumstances in it, but it was probably better to get the rejection from her now than later. _

"_Sure," she nodded._

"_There's a place I wanna show you, it's about a 20-minute walk from here, I think."_

"_Let's go then," Maria agreed without hesitation, wondering where he wanted to go._

_He looked down at her. **Was this the right decision**, he wondered and then decided that it was the right thing to do. If he was going to reveal a bit of himself, then at least it should be at a place that actually meant something to him._

"_Let's get something to east first though," she considered. "I'm starving and we get it for free here."_

"_Sure," he agreed. It wasn't like he had any money to BUY her something anyway, so he should be glad that she just went with the logical way. "What do ya want?"_

"_I'd die for some fries with the creamy cheese sauce and the little pieces of roasted bacon on top." Her mouth watered at the thought of it. _

_He laughed and was glad when she didn't consider some of the healthy salad crap most girls seem to favour. "Very good choice, M." He dropped one of his arms, but kept holding one of her hands in his with the other. "Lead the way."_

"_I think they have them over there," she pointed at a small stand across the lawn. "I think they have burgers there too. I know you guys need meat."_

"_Not really hungry at all," he said with a shrug. Okay, that was a lie, but it felt wrong to let her buy the food, even though she wasn't buying at all with the VIP card she had. _

"_Really?" She didn't believe him. They hadn't eaten anything yet and if he was like every other guy then he could eat all day. "I guess I'll just order a few to go in case ya get hungry later."_

_**What could he say against that?** "Okay," he agreed and followed her, but the weird feeling in his chest stayed. _


	21. Chapter 4G

**Chapter 4G**

"_You sure you don't wanna sit while you eat that?" Michael asked, amused as he watched her from the corner of his eye when she ate her fries. _

"_No, I'm good," she mumbled around a bite and made a waving gesture with her hand when she swallowed. "Damn, that was hot."_

"_You spilled cheese sauce," he mentioned. _

"_Where?" Maria looked all over her clothes, but couldn't find a spot anywhere. _

_He stopped and walked up in front of her, using his free hand to wipe it away from her chin. She followed his movement when he then licked it from his finger and smirked at her._

_Damn, that was sexy_,_ she thought and distracted herself with looking back at the food. "Knew you were hungry, buddy." She took one fry and held it up to him until he opened his mouth and took it in, deliberately touching her fingers with his lips. _

_Their eyes met for a very long intense moment, but neither of them moved. _It would be so easy to kiss her now_, he thought, but didn't go for it. Yet. Before he would put a real move on her, she had to know who he was and what is life was like. If he was lucky enough and she didn't run away screaming, he would kiss her. _

"_Come on," he nudged her slightly and winked before they continued their way. "We're almost there," he pointed at something in a distance._

"_We're going to Yacht Harbor?" _

"_Yep."_

"_Well, okay." She didn't really know why, but let him guide her. Maybe there was a deeper motive behind it or maybe he just liked the place. _

_It only took another few minutes before they reached their destination. Michael led her to the very end, along a small jetty until the dead end. He rested his lower arms on the railing and stared out over the ocean while Maria leaned her back on it to eat the last of her fries. "Want some more?"_

_He shook his head. "No thanks." Right now he was really too nervous to eat._

"_Okay," she said, but somehow had the feeling something was wrong. He was even more quiet than earlier that day and didn't say anything while they stood there, watching the birds catching fish out of the water. _

_She walked over to a nearby trashcan and tossed the empty wrappings away, wiping her hands on her jeans before she joined him again. _

_Michael tried to find the best way to start this conversation, but it was really hard to find something fitting. He had never really told anyone about his life, except the few people who knew about it anyway._

"_Is everything okay?" Maria asked after a while of silence that started to get uncomfortable. He turned his head to look at her intensely. "I mean, you seem to be a little… off."_

"_Everything's okay," he said finally and straightened up a bit and scratched his eyebrow. "I guess…"_

_Maria turned and hopped up to sit on the railing, wrapping her feet around the lower one to steady herself. "You guess…" An uneasy feeling was washing over her. What did that mean?_

"_There is something I need to tell you," he pushed himself to continue. "You know… before we…" He pointed between the two of them, not knowing how to describe it. He didn't want to call it a relationship yet. _

_She nodded. "Okay." Fear was creeping up her spine. What could he possibly tell her that was so serious on a first date? Was he sick maybe? _

_He looked over the ocean and pointed to a small yacht in the distance. "My family used to have a similar one when I was younger."_

"_That's cool." He didn't strike her as a guy with a rich family though and those things cost a fortune._

"_My mother loved to dive. She had worked pretty hard since she was very young to afford it and once she was able to buy it, she spent every free minute out on the ocean." He cleared his throat. "Took me out a lot too, but I kinda hated diving. It just creeped me out."_

"_I know what you mean," she admitted quietly. "I'm not sure I could do that either."_

"_One day she was out there. Alone, like she had been countless times before." He shook his head. "It's never really been resolved how it happened, but she drowned that day. It was probably some defect in her equipment." _

_Maria held onto the railing to not fall while she tried to come up with some words. She was really surprised to hear something like that on a first date and she wondered if it was just the beginning of more. "I'm sorry, Michael. How old were you?"_

"_Six," he said hoarsely. "The Coast Guard took three days to find her and my father was going crazy at home. She would probably still be alive if she hadn't been out there alone again. My father had told her countless times he didn't want her to go out on the water alone but she didn't listen."_

_His tone was angry and she wondered if the anger was aimed at his mother or the situation in general. _

"_My mother had always been the head of the family, the one who held us all together, the one who worked the hardest. When she was suddenly gone, my father felt totally swamped. He had never cooked in his life before, never used a washing machine. Having to raise me alone, earning money, and taking care of the household was too much for him."_

_She could imagine what a hole his mother had left in the family, but life had to go on, right? Though her father wasn't dead and had just left them, her mother had done that all alone as well._

"_He fell into a depression, started to drink and lost his job over it." The wind was picking up and he moved his head to look at her. "Are you cold?"_

_She actually was cold, but shook her head. Somehow this seemed to be more important than finding a warmer place. "I'm okay."_

_Nonetheless, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and got a beanie out. "Here," he gave it to her. _

"_I'll look stupid with it on," she complained, but took it from him anyway. She grasped her hair all together and whirled it up to sit under the beanie when she pulled it over her head. _

_He laughed quietly when he looked at her. _

"_See, told you I'd look dumb."_

"_You don't," he shook his head. And she really didn't in his eyes. _

"_You wanna continue?" she asked gently after a moment._

"_Yeah…" he agreed, preparing to get to the more important things he wanted to tell her. "It didn't take long until we lost our house and had to move into a small crappy apartment at the other end of the city. I was hoping my Dad would someday snap out of it, but…"_

"_Never happened, huh?" Maria said when he didn't say anything and seemed to be so lost in that moment. _

"_No", he affirmed. "It pretty much went downhill from there. I was bad in school because when I got home I was confronted with a mess and at one point I didn't care about anything anymore either. I met Kyle in our apartment building and he had a pretty similar family situation, so we started to hang out together and the older we got…" he shrugged, "let's say we weren't up to anything good."_

_She felt sorry for him, but wasn't sure how much of it he would appreciate. "That's a tough childhood you had."_

_He breathed deeply. "Yeah. We didn't have any money, so we came up with a lot of shit. I mean, we were hungry you know and there was never a warm meal waiting for us or anything at home." He snorted loudly. "To be honest, there was never anything good waiting for us at home. The only things our fathers had for us was beer and a beating."_

_**Damn, what should she say to that?** Her heart clenched tightly at his confession and she felt incredibly sad about what had gone on in his still young life. She reached out to place her hand over his on the railing and squeezed it slightly instead of saying anything._

"_You ARE cold," he remarked and stepped away from the railing to stand in front of her, blocking at least a bit of the wind blowing at her. _

_Maria let go of her hold and rested both of her palms against the sides of his neck, waiting to see if he had anything else to say. _

"_Okay, M, what I'm trying to say is you're probably way too good for me." He shook his head when she wanted to protest. "I finished school finally, I got a small apartment and a job and I'm trying to be better than that now, but the truth is my money is hardly enough for food and the monthly rent, my apartment is anything but fancy and …yeah, I also have a criminal record." He met her gaze while his heart was pounding like crazy in his chest. Never ever had he admitted so much about himself and especially not to anyone he hadn't even known for more than 24 hours. This was crazy, but he didn't regret it and at least she wasn't running away - yet. "You know what Kyle said last night?"_

_She shook her head. "What?"_

"_That you're way out of my league and I guess he's right, but it didn't keep me from coming here anyway."_

_Maria studied his features, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Was he trying to tell her they couldn't be together or was he saying they could? "So, if you think I'm too good for you… why are you here, Michael?"_

_He shrugged and avoided looking at her. "Maybe I had to hold onto the first good thing that's happened to me in a damn long time."_

_His words saddened her. She squeezed her hands on his shoulders to get his attention. "Wanna hear my way of looking at this?"_

"_Sure," he nodded, although he wasn't sure how much he'd like it._

"_Okay," she played with the collar of his jacket while she thought about a way to start. "To my way of thinking, you won't find out about deserving each other by comparing your life status. I mean, more money or less money, it doesn't say anything about who you are. Of course appearances blend people and I wouldn't exclude myself from that, but in the end there is something else that counts the most. It's the way you treat people."_

_He frowned when he wasn't sure what that meant for them._

"_When we met each other yesterday, I guess it was obvious that Tess and I don't normally go to bars like that, right?"_

"_Yeah," he smirked. "You strike me more like cocktail bar girls."_

_She laughed. "We normally are. But the point is you didn't make fun of me or treat me bad just because you were angry with the whole world and the more wealthy people. You treated me an' Tess right and without prejudice and that's really all that matters to me."_

_He only could hope that she meant what he thought she meant because it was still hard to make out if she was okay with his background or not. _

"_Michael, you really don't have to worry about not being good enough for me or whatever, okay? As long as you treat me right it won't matter what happened in the past or where you live, or what you did." She smacked his head slightly. "Of course you better stay out of any trouble with the police, buddy."_

"_Will do that," he promised and felt incredibly relieved that it was finally out. Kyle had called him insane when he had told him about his plan to tell her the truth, but now he was just happy he hadn't let his best friend change his mind about it. _

"_It looks like you carried that around with you all day," she said slowly when she detected his more relaxed features. _

_He shrugged. "I wanted to tell you right away what you got in front of you and I wasn't sure how'd you react."_

"_I'm glad you did," she admitted, knowing it would have led to complications if he had tried to hide parts of his past. _

_They stood there for several minutes in silence. Michael watched her as her eyes followed a bird sitting on the railing. He had a small stick clinging to his leg and was trying to pick it away in frustration. A smile played around her lips while she watched the animal. _

"_You are the cutest woman on earth," he said, amused when her features showed off all the emotions running around in her head._

"_Cute?" she asked and turned to him, noticing that he had been watching her the whole time._

_He nodded._

"_I'm not sure I like being cute." She made a face. "Couldn't you have said something like sexy or something?"_

_He laughed out loud and stepped closer, bringing his arms around her waist. "What if I tell you cute is really my type?" _

_Maria could feel the warmth coming from his body and let her own arms slip around his neck. "Then I guess I could live with being cute in your eyes." Every part of her body was reacting to his presence. Her arms and legs were tingling, her stomach was feeling just as weird as the day she got her first kiss in fifth grade and her cheeks felt like they were on fire. _

"_I'm sure that beneath all those layers of clothes," he brought his face closer and nudged the collar of her jacket with his nose, "I will also find sexy."_

"_So, about what we talked about last night," she said and used her index finger to swipe along his lips. _

"'_ven't been smokin'," he mumbled against her finger. _

_She had to smile when he remembered immediately what she meant. "Then you know what to do."_

"_Pretty sure," he mumbled and tipped his head up, nudging her nose with his playfully, and then finally pressing his lips against hers in a gentle manner. _

_**He felt incredible soft**, was the first thing she thought and suppressed a frustrated groan when be backed away again already. _

_Michael only moved away an inch or two, widening his stance and using his arms to settle her more fully against him before he closed the distance again and let his lips sweep over hers - first only in slow motion and then a little faster. He kept the kiss tender, ignoring the desire for more deep inside of him for now._

_**His kiss feels so different compared to everything** before, Maria mused. One of her hands swept over the bare skin of his neck, her thumb stretching out to drive along his jaw. The way he kissed was different too. While most teenage boys tended to be overheated, stormy and well… way too wet, he was gentle and just altered the intensity to make it more thrilling. Yeah, it was the first time she had the feeling that it meant something not only to her, but him also._

_They were both ready to take the kiss further when a loud grumble from his stomach interrupted and made Maria laugh. "You sure you're not hungry?"_

"_Well maybe a bit now," he admitted, his gaze wandering down to her lips._

"_Thank God I'm a genius and took a few burgers with us, huh?" She pressed another light kiss on his mouth and nodded over his shoulder. "They're over there on the bench."_

_He turned slightly to detect the bag out of the corner of his eyes. "Ya sure? I probably won't taste that good afterwards."_

"_I told them to leave the onions off," she replied with a wink and ran her hand along his temple with a nod. "Guess we have lots of time for the rest later."_

"_Yeah," he agreed and brought her closer for a hug once more. "Thanks."_

"_For what?"_

_He shrugged. "Not judging me for… you know, my life."_

Maria smiled sadly at the pic on her cell and the memory attached to it. They had stayed on the harbor for another few hours, talking, kissing and taking a few pics with her cell to remember.

It was several years ago now, but she could still remember it as if it had been yesterday. "I love you, Michael. Come back to me," she whispered quietly into the dark.


	22. Chapter 4H

**Chapter 4H**

Tess wandered along the corridors of her house after leaving Maria alone again. She had refused to come out with her again, probably lost in memories of her and Michael. But could she be mad at her for it? Not really! They hadn't seen each other for a very long time and the waiting was keeping her friend on edge all the time. It was probably better if she stayed in her room tonight, considering what she had might have overheard earlier.

"Where's Maria?"

Tess stopped and turned, seeing her father and another man in the hallway to her left.

"Is she not feeling well?" Ed walked up to his daughter.

"She's in my room," Tess replied and looked at him. "Can I ask you something, Dad?"

He already had a feeling he wouldn't like her question considering her tone and expression, but he nodded anyway. "Go ahead."

"I accidently overheard a bit of your talk with the president earlier." She swallowed when she saw his face change into a protective mask. "Is something wrong with Michael?"

"Sweetie, you know I can't talk about my job with anyone, not even you." Ed tried to sound unconcerned. How much had she heard? The less she knew, the better. He didn't want her to be in danger and as harsh as it sounded, hanging out with Maria was putting her in potential danger right now.

"I know, but… M's hurting, Dad. And Michael told her a week ago he would be home and he still isn't. If there's something wrong with him, then you gotta tell her! She's going crazy over the waiting."

Ed didn't know what to say. It was one thing to hide the truth from the public and the press, but it was another to lie to his own family.

"He's still alive, right?" she asked fearfully, checking his face for any emotions.

"He is," he told her convincingly. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Tess knew there wasn't much more she would get out of her father, so she just nodded. His words showed her though that there was something going on and if the president and the Secretary of Defense were involved, then it was probably serious.

Liz laughed at another story Max had told her about hiding from the press. "Wow, must be really exhausting to get away all the time, huh?"

Their drinks had long been empty and she had been able to find a second blanket, which kept them both warm enough to forget the rough weather. "It is," Max admitted with a slight smile, but it soon faded.

"You're not so happy about that," she guessed. Even though he had told her a few humorous stories about his life, she couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness in him. There was something about him that told her he wasn't always comfortable in his own skin and she wondered where it came from.

He looked at her silently for a few long moments and then nodded. "There are times I wish I could just walk out the house like a normal person and do normal everyday things that others wouldn't think twice about."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she said slowly and looked up at the half moon. "My mom's been sick with cancer for as long as I can remember. Some days she feels good and others she can't even walk. I'm all she has so I stayed in Boston after high school to help her as well as I can."

"You wanted to go somewhere for college?" he asked, feeling totally stupid about it. He KNEW all these things about her and yet he had to pretend to be clueless. It was so low.

"Yeah, I'd have liked to go to Washington University and Mom really tried to talk me into going, but…" she looked at him quickly and shrugged. "I couldn't."

"Guess I can understand that," Max stated gently. "No one wants to leave someone alone and sick."

She nodded sadly. "I'm taking online classes. They're pretty stupid because I'm always getting paired up with assholes and…" she frowned. "Are you going there for real? I mean, you do study at the University of Washington right? We met there before."

He grinned at the memory. "How could I forget?"

"Shut up," she laughed.

"I tried to go there like a normal student, but," he snorted loudly, "didn't work out that well with the secret service thing going on and all so now I take online classes as well."

"Yeah? Cool, then you probably know all about being set up with idiots. Or are you kinda… ya know, able to choose them?"

"No," he shook his head. "Told them I wanted to be treated just like everyone else."

She had expected it after what she had learned about him tonight. "How do people react when they find out they're paired up with the president's son?"

He shrugged. "They don't know."

"No? But don't you have the online profile for the university? I had to set one up."

"Yeah, but mine's fake." He made a face. "Safety measures and all, you know? Hate it."

"Oh, well, I guess that's understandable_." It had to be hard not to be able to be the person you were_, she thought.

_Hopefully she'll remember this conversation if she ever finds out I'm William_.

"So what's your fake name?" she asked with a smirk.

"Sorry, I can't tell you, would totally blow my cover," he said with a wink, hoping she'd see it was also the truth.

"Guess that answer was expected." Liz bit her lip. "Too bad I'll never know if I get paired up with you."

He smirked and turned to look at her while he tried to consider how clever his next suggestion would be. "Well, we could kinda agree on a secret sign or something."

"Yeah?" She sat up, intrigued. "What kinda sign?"

"I don't know. A word or a sentence maybe. Something totally inane."

"What about _**I LOVE PEANUT M&M'S**_."

He laughed at her suggestion. "If that's what you want."

"Well, it's random and I do love them."

"They're not bad," he agreed. "Okay, I'm good with that." He wasn't sure if he would ever use it though. "You gotta promise you won't post anything like: _**OMG you're Max**_ or something, cause that'd totally blow my cover an' all."

She lifted two fingers. "I swear."

He nodded. "Good." _It all sounded so easy_.

"I hate to interrupt the little party out here," someone said from a small distance and when he took another step closer, his face lit up from the pool lamps.

"Dad," Max said, surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he said simply and approached them. He didn't know how much he liked that his son was sitting outside with this girl, but he decided to not say anything about it. His son was angry with the world and him most of the time, so there was no need to make it even worse.

"Um, good evening, Mr. President." Liz straightened up and hoped her blush wouldn't be all too obvious. It was easy to forget who Max really was when you talked to him, but with his father's presence it was different.

"Good night would fit better," Philip said with a slight smile, "Miss…"

"Parker," she blurted out. "Liz Parker."

"Miss Parker," the president nodded and looked at his son. "We're ready to go to our hotel for the night."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute, okay?"

Liz glanced at her watch when the president walked off again. "Wow, it's already past two in the morning."

"Time passed by quickly," Max agreed, hating that he already had to leave and tomorrow they would be back to being strangers over the internet.

They both got up quickly, unable to think about anything intelligent to say or do. "Well," she started. "It was nice to get to know you a bit, Max Evans." It felt unreal to get to know the president's son, but at the same time she had enjoyed herself tonight. She was pretty sure though that their paths wouldn't cross again any time soon – if ever.

"It was nice to meet you too, Liz Parker," he said with a slight smile. _In person_, he added in his thoughts.

"I'll be waiting for your sign on the internet," she joked.

He forced a grin. "I'll remember that."

"Max," his mother was at the door this time. "You know we can't afford any delays in the itinerary. Come on."

He rolled his eyes and looked at Liz apologetically. "Everything's planned to the last second with our arrivals and departures. I'd better go."

"Okay," she agreed and watched him hurry into the house.

As soon as he entered the house he was rushed through it – passing a wall of secret service agents who guided him into the already waiting limousine at the back of the house. He took a quick glance around and detected his mother and father entering another huge black car in the long caravan.

The door was held open for him by a man in a black suit and as soon as he was inside the car, he mumbled something into his watch and closed it.

"You have a nice night?" Only now did Max notice his sister sitting across from him with Alex Whitman next to her.

Alex stared out of the tinted windows of the limousine while they drove through the night, the caravan accompanied by local police. He had known before that the action around the president must be huge when he was travelling but seeing this was something different – it was really beyond anyone's imagination what was necessary for it.

"Did you enjoy the night?" a female voice asked.

He turned to meet the beautiful eyes of Isabel Evans next to him. "I did." He nodded, but it was a lie. The evening had been pretty boring since he had known absolutely no one and he wasn't allowed to talk about the reasons why he was currently staying at the president's residence either, so small talk had been a real pain.

"You're lying," she said, amused. "You were bored shitless."

He smirked. "That obvious, huh?"

"Hell yes," Isabel winked and relaxed with a wide yawn. "There have been better parties."

He didn't know what to say to that and turned his gaze to the window again. Not being allowed to talk to anyone was hard. Nobody but Melody knew where he was at the moment and more importantly, WHY he was here, but he couldn't even talk to her about it over the phone or the internet.

There was another meeting with the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of NASA, and the National Security Advisor tomorrow, but he was afraid that he didn't have many more details yet. The thing was still too far away to be more predictable.

_The thing_, he thought and almost snorted aloud. He had been told that chances were good the asteroid would be named after its discoverer. _What an honor to share his name with a potential global killer._


	23. Chapter 4I

**Chapter 4I**

The car as well as his body was shook badly when the wheels dug though the nasty uneven ground. Michael felt the dizziness that had become his constant companion combined with a permanent ache right above and between his eyes. The lack of liquid was making an impact and with every passing hour it became more difficult to think straight.

Where were they taking him this time? What time of day was it? Hard to tell with the sack constantly over his head, the material so thick that he could feel the heat of his own breath on his face.

He tried to concentrate, tried to hear anything familiar, to remember a street they could possibly be on with every curve they took, but he was drawing a blank and it really didn't surprise him anymore. It was hard to remember things like that in a healthy and fit state, but it was impossible after days of torture and sleep deprivation.

Although he was familiar with a lot of Arabic words, he couldn't get the right translation in his head as he listened to the men around him – hoping for a hint about his location. _Not that it would really help_, he thought. It wasn't like he could just pull out a telephone token and call someone to help him.

His mind wandered back to his encounter with Ibrahim yesterday. _Or had it been today_? He curled his tightly bound hands into fists when he remembered the moment he had shown him the picture of Maria. The asshole was threatening him with her because he knew she was one of two people he cared about most in his life and hurting one of them would be the perfect revenge for killing his brother.

Maria…. His heart clenched tightly at the thought that she might be hurt because of him. What if they made their threat real and got her? What if Ibrahim forced him to watch as he killed his girlfriend before his eyes?

_God no, that couldn't happen_. It couldn't or he would find his end here too. There was nothing left that could keep him in this hell of a world after watching something like that.

The car shook another time and made his injured leg twitch enough to cause a stinging pain through the length of his body. The pain was a welcome distraction from the dark thoughts in his head though.

Where were they taking him this time? They had transferred him to several different places now, making it really hard for anyone to find him. _If there was anyone looking for him at all._ He knew what he had agreed to when he came to the ASCT unit and it hadn't allowed for a rescue in cases like this.

There were a few hurried voices when they suddenly stopped. Doors were pulled open and steps on the crunchy dusty ground could be heard before someone pulled on his left arm sharply to drag him out roughly. Michael coughed slightly from the sudden activity, the air felt like sandpaper in his dry throat.

He was pushed and shoved forward, but surprisingly he managed to stay on his feet until his body collided with a hard barrier – a door, and the handle of it bored into his side painfully. Someone pushed it open before he had the chance to get a solid stance again and it caused him to stumble into whatever they were entering and this time he couldn't avoid crashing onto the hard ground.

Just stay where you are, his clouded mind told him when he didn't feel enough strength to get on his feet again. His body felt worn out like after a marathon even though they had only walked a few feet.

Hands grabbed him on both sides again – they dragged him upright at the same time as he heard a dull beat, like wood crashing into something hard.

Just dazed, he felt his body moving forward again, probably more from being carried than walking on his own. There were steps or something similar, but his feet missed them and he fell again, deeper this time, but he didn't feel any pain in that moment.

His body was turned around until he lay on his back and he feared that he would be pushed up again, but nothing happened. They were letting him lie on the ground just where he was and they finally ripped the sack from his head.

Michael prepared his eyes for some light and squinted them shut, but it slowly became obvious that there wasn't much light in his new location. Numbly, he watched as a three men climbed up the few steps to a more illuminated room.

A man appeared at the hatch, staring down at him. _From the silhouette it could be Ibrahim,_ he thought, but wasn't sure and before his eyes could focus more, the wooden flap was closed, leaving him in a dirty underground hole. There was still a bit of sunlight coming through the cracks between the planks, but it soon disappeared when something was dragged over the ground from the floor above.

Max squinted when the flashes from several photographer's cameras blinded him as soon as the limousine had stopped and they stepped out. Why would people wait for hours out in the cold night for this? Everyone knew what they looked like, so what the hell could be so interesting about a photo of him walking into a hotel on a random night? _Ungh_, he hated the hype about his family.

He sighed when the doors fell closed after them, leaving all the intrusive loud people on the other side of the building. Now, if he only could get rid of the secret service as well.

"Are ya joining us at the bar?" Isabel asked her brother as she hooked one arm into the crook of Alex Whitman's.

"No, I'm tired," he lied. Max really wasn't in the mood to watch his sister flirting with this politician or whatever he was.

"You're no fun," she complained, but winked at him to let him know that she wasn't really mad. To be honest, the question had been more out of courtesy than her really wanting him to join them.

"See you in the morning, Iz," he lifted his hand for a wordless goodbye to the man next to her before he turned to walk to the elevators just at their parents entered the hotel from a different entrance. He could see his mom's eyes checking the room for both of her kids and she relaxed when she saw both of them inside and safe.

"Our rooms are on the seventh floor," she told him when they passed him and she squeezed his shoulder for a moment.

"I know," he mumbled and saw two secret service agents out of the corner of his eyes on each side of him. Their rooms were always on the seventh floor when they stayed here and they even had the same room numbers every time, but still everyone reminded him about it.

The elevator finally opened and he stepped into the empty cabin, pressing the button for the right floor and almost laughed when the door closed too early and bumped into the side of one chaperone-suited monkey. He leaned against the wall behind him and watched the display where the numbers of the floors where shown in red light as they moved upwards.

With a small *_bing_* the door opened again and he stepped out of the elevator, turning right to walk down the hallway to his room. Another agent was waiting there, he relieved the others and nodded at him before opening the door with a key card. "Good night, Sir."

"Yeah, night," Max said back, not really paying attention to what the men said anymore. He sighed, relieved when he was able to close the door to be alone. Finally!

Immediately, his gaze wandered to the small bag he had packed at home and had been placed on the bed by the secret service earlier. He walked over to it and opened it up, getting the small net book out and hitting the power button to turn it on.

Despite the ride to the hotel, he had found himself enjoying this night out for a party for the very first time in a very long time and he knew that the only reason for it had been Liz. It had taken him a while to really talk to her in person and maybe it had been just a little bit of luck or fate kicking in when she had come out in the garden – but every minute with her had been so much better than the past weeks of his life. With her, he was able to be the person he really was and really wanted to be. Thank God, she had forgotten about her preconceived notions about people like him and the talk between them had turned out to be fun and light-hearted.

_If she only knew how good we REALLY know each other_, he thought and kicked his shoes off before lying down in bed and taking the net book to rest on his stomach. He wished he could just tell her the whole truth about him without her being mad or things starting to get complicated because of who he was. It would be so much better to talk to her totally open without this big secret between them. He wanted her to know because he always had the feeling that he was lying to her.

_Suck it up, Evans! You know this can't be! It would never work out. _

He punched a few buttons on the small keyboard on the net book and waited until the explorer led him to his email account. A slight smile ran over his lips when he saw an email from Liz. It was followed by a frown when he noticed the time though. _She must have sent it while we were still together out in the garden_, he realized.

_Hey Willi, _

_How's your evening going? _

_Mine's okay, pretty boring party as I told you._

_BORING? Was she serious? He'd had the best time in what felt like an eternity and she told him it was fucking boring!?_

_She told William_, he corrected himself and calmed down again. _Maybe she just didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him about another boy?_ It had to be that because she hadn't looked bored at all!

_Hey Browny!_

_Boring huh? _

_My evening was actually pretty nice. Met a nice girl and we talked for a long while. I enjoyed it! ;)_

Before he could think twice, he had hit the send button and the email was gone.

Liz sighed when she slipped under the blanket in her provisional bed in Tess' room. It was just a mattress on the floor while the other two girls would sleep in the bed, but she didn't care.

Maria was still in the bathroom brushing her teeth and Tess was busy checking her email at her computer, so she grabbed her cell and decided to do the same.

She grinned to herself when she saw a new message from William in her inbox and didn't wait any longer to open it up to read it.

_He met a girl? And had fun?_

Liz couldn't help the jealous feeling in her chest when she read his email. She had been thoughtful with him and hadn't told him about Max and that she had actually enjoyed his presence and now he was telling her the exact thing? _Unbelievable_!

After all the back and forth flirting they had done over the last weeks in a chat room, he had the nerve to tell her about another woman? Just wait, buddy. _Now you're getting the truth from me as well!_

_Hey!_

_A girl, huh? Got her number? :p_

_I actually met someone after I wrote you as well. He turned out to be very enjoyable company! ;)_

She sent the email to him immediately and then placed her cell aside, frustrated. _A girl! He met a girl! And then he even rubbed her nose in it!_

"So Parker," Tess distracted her before she could think too much about it. "You were out in the garden with Max-Fucking-Evans for a damn long time. You gotta share details, girl."

"There's not much to tell."

Maria snorted when she overheard Liz' comment and sat on the bed. "You can give it up, Lizzie. You know that answer won't count with Tess and really, if you were talking to the president's son for hours, then it is worth telling us every small uninteresting detail about it."

"Exactly," Tess snapped her fingers at her friend's words. "So spill, E! What'd you guys talk about?"

"Alright," Liz sighed deeply and sat up again. "It really wasn't anything deep or really exciting. He told me a lot about how his life is being the president's son and that he's sometimes pretty fed up with it. And then we talked a little bit more about classes and college."

Maria and Tess exchanged a disappointed look. "That's all?" they both asked at the same time.

"No flirting?" the curly blonde added.

"Well…" Liz bit her lip and thought about it. Had there been flirting? Maybe just a bit, but it wasn't like totally obvious. "I don't know. We had fun… and he gave me those looks sometimes, so maybe?"

"Those looks, huh?" Maria teased.

"He's totally into her, M," Tess nodded. "You should've seen the glances he was shooting at her all night."

"You're totally exaggerating as usual," Liz groaned.

"I am not," the other girl denied. "And you said you had fun, so I guess he wasn't boring after all."

"No, he wasn't," Liz agreed. "Surprisingly he came across pretty cool."

"An' he's pretty hot too," Maria said with a grin. "I mean, not my type, but I can see him being yours."

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't know. He comes across a bit mysterious… serious, but still interesting, quiet, but not boring…" she shrugged. "He would fit you."

Tess clapped her hands together, when she had found something on the internet she had been looking for. "Ha! Maria's right! Plus, he has a hell of a hot body!" She bent to the side to reveal what she had found.

There was a big picture of Max Evans on the screen. Naked and just covering himself with one hand while he looked into the camera, stunned.

"Oh, my god, I can't believe you knew about that," Liz gasped and got up to take a better look at the computer.

"Well, he was in all the newspapers."

Maria nodded and started to laugh. "Oh yeah, I remember. Very nice toned body, Liz. Congratulations."

"Yeah," Tess mumbled and took a closer look as well. "Seems like he's well-hung as well, from what it looks like."

"Shut up," Liz giggled and couldn't help but stare at the picture closer as well.

"Yep," Maria agreed when she appeared next to the other girls and leaned on Tess' shoulders, who was sitting on a chair in front of the computer. "The photo definitely promises a good package."

All three girls laughed as they stared at an embarrassed Max Evans on the screen and Liz couldn't help but imagine her hands on his muscled chest.


	24. Chapter 5A

**1/8/2012**

**Chapter 5A**

It was shortly after eight in the morning when Maria opened her eyes tiredly because some noise had woken her up. The night had been pretty sleepless thanks to her sorrows about Michael, so she wasn't happy about waking up so soon after finally being able to sleep at all. "Liz," she half-complained, half-groaned when she saw the silhouette of her friend standing at the window. "What're you doin' up already?"

"I gotta leave," she whispered quietly to let at least Tess sleep in peace and neared the bed to sit down on the edge, already fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a pullover that she had brought with her to avoid having to go home in her dress again.

"Why?" Maria rubbed her eyes tiredly and rolled to her side to face the other girl. "Thought we'd have breakfast together first.

"I have to check on my mom. She wasn't feeling very well the last few days after coming home from the hospital again. She's weak and I wanna prepare the breakfast for her so she doesn't have to force herself to get up for it."

"Oh, okay," the blonde girl nodded. It happened all too often that Liz missed out on the fun because of her sick mother, but of course she could understand her worries and was sure she would be doing the same thing if it was her mother. "Tell Lucy I said hi, okay? I hope she feels a little better again soon."

"I will," Liz agreed and kissed her cheek. "Sleep a little more, sorry that I woke you up."

Maria yawned. "Don't worry about it."

"He'll be home eventually," Liz said when she could easily see the worries in the other girl's face. A look she was carrying all too often herself and she didn't like it. "Sometimes things just don't work out the way they were planned, but that doesn't have to mean that something bad's happened."

"I know. Can't tell you how much I try to convince myself about that every day, but it's not easy to believe it when it's also likely that something has happened considering his job and all."

"Think positive," Liz nudged her cheek with her fist gently.

Maria smirked. "You too!"

"Trying." She glanced up when she heard a sound from the other girl next to Maria. "Tell Tess she snores way too loud after drinking alcohol."

Just as she said that the girl rolled on her back and started to snore slightly like a sleeping cat. Liz and Maria giggled and pressed their hands over their mouths to not make too much noise. The brunette got up from the bed again and walked over to the door after grabbing her backpack. She waved at Maria silently and slipped out the door as noiseless as possible.

Just as she closed the door and turned around to follow the hallway, she came face to face with a strange man in a black suit. The man stood there, a little surprised to see her up this early, but he didn't move away from his position next to the door and relaxed again without saying anything.

Liz opened her mouth, but closed it again when she didn't know what to say. The man looked like a bodyguard, maybe a man from the secret service and even though she had no clue why he was waiting next to Tess' bedroom, she didn't wonder too much about it. Maybe the president was already here again for a meeting? Or Ed had some protection now too? Since the man didn't show any signs of panic that she had seen him, it was probably all okay and she continued on her way out of the huge house.

After a 15-minutes walk in the cold and foggy January morning, Liz was more than ready to be home, but there was still one block to go. Her feet were ice cold in shoes that were totally wrong for this time of year and the wind felt like tiny little needles in her face. _Gosh_, _she hated stupid winter weather like this! Why couldn't it be summer all year?_

She bowed her head as much as possible to hide half of her face in the high collar of her jacket, already dreaming about the hot coffee she would make for her and her mom as soon as she got home. Because of her posture and lowered gaze, she didn't notice the ambulance parked in front of her building until she had to move her head to make sure the street was clear to cross it.

A slight feeling of panic crept into her body immediately, increasing with every step she took. Although Liz tried to calm herself, her pace became faster and faster towards her home. The huge double doors at the entrance of the big apartment building were standing wide open and indicated that the rescue workers were still inside somewhere.

She glanced back at the vehicle again before entering, but there was nobody in it. From a distance she could hear voices in the hallway, probably coming from the EMTs. She heard a male voice barking out instructions, but the voice wasn't clear enough to understand.

For a moment she considered taking the elevator, but at the last minute she decided to take the stairs again, letting her panic finally win over the wish to remain control. Taking two steps at a time, she rushed up the stairs towards her own apartment - with each passing floor the voices were getting louder, making her even more certain that something was wrong with her mother.

For the last two floors she ran, not paying attention to the neighbors in the hallway who were all curiously checking on the noise in their building. Her heart sank when she saw the front door of her home standing wide open, giving her proof that the ambulance was there for her mother again.

She rushed inside and almost knocked Silvie, her mother's friend, over, who was leaning against the wall in the hallway, her face horrified and swollen from crying. "Oh my God, Liz," she gasped since she hadn't expected the girl to be home yet.

"What's wrong?" the younger girl asked, fear overriding her voice and making it shake. She glanced around the other woman to see more and detected her mother's bedroom door open as well. An EMT was kneeling on the ground right in the frame, blocking her gaze. "Silvie," she asked again when she didn't get an answer, "what's going on here?" This couldn't be true, she had just been away for a few hours. "Mom?" she called out.

"Liz," the older woman finally snapped out of her daze and tried to get her attention. She grabbed her by her shoulders to prevent her from taking a closer look into the other room. "I just came here a while ago," Silvie whispered. "Your Mom and I wanted to have breakfast together, but…" Tears and sobs prevented her from saying anything more.

Liz' eyes grew wide. She could feel the tight feeling in her chest and got shook off the grip around her to run towards her mother's room, immediately wishing she hadn't done it when the situation sank in slowly.

Two men and one woman were kneeling on the ground around her mother's lifeless body. One of them had both of his hands on her chest, moving up and down for the cardiac massage, while another was leaning forward to breathe air into her lungs as soon as the movement was stilled. Then the procedure was repeated again.

"Mom," Liz cried out under tears, getting the attention of the woman in the room. She got up and blocked the girl's gaze, forcing her a few steps out of the room.

"Don't look at this," she said gently and with sympathy.

"What's wrong with her? I wanna be with her!"

"That isn't a good idea," Aubrey said. She hated situations like this, but it had become a sad routine in her job. "Your mother had already stopped breathing when the emergency call came in," she explained calmly and recognized how the movements behind her lessened just as she had expected.

Liz shook her head furiously. "NO! What're you saying?"

Aubrey turned and watched her co-workers lean back to look at each other with a shake of their heads. "Miss Parker, I'm sorry, but your mother's passed away."

The young girl stared at her, not believing the words. "No, no! She wasn't doing that bad. My mother's not dead; she just needs to rest to gain her strength again."

Silvie rushed to her side and wrapped one arm around her. "Come on, Liz. We'll go and sit down in the kitchen."

"No," she shrugged her off stubbornly. "I wanna see my mother."

"Miss Parker," Aubrey tried again, knowing that it happened often that the relatives reacted this way. "We couldn't do anything for your mother. She had probably already been dead for an hour when she was found."

It felt like the ground was ripped away beneath her feet and her vision became blurry as she stared at the bedroom door. "I wanna see my mom," she mumbled again in a daze.

The two men glanced at each other and then nodded slightly, removing their gear from the bedroom and lifting the dead body of the middle-aged woman back onto the bed, where they had removed her to place her on the ground about 30 minutes ago to try the resuscitation. Sometimes people had to see their deceased again to realize the situation fully and they had to accept it.

"Sweetie," Silvie tried, "don't do that. Keep her in your memory the way you knew her," her mother's friend tried, but she could see that her words didn't reach her.

Liz moved forward slowly, feeling like a robot at that moment. Her eyes roamed over the slim quiet body in the bed while she waited for any sign of life –but it didn't materialize. "Mom," she whispered quietly.

Aubrey followed her but stood in the hallway to give her a little space while her co-workers handled the paperwork and calls to organize a transport.

Lucy Parker was still wearing her nightgown, a prefect sign that whatever had been going on had happened during the night since her mother had always been a morning person who refused to lay around undressed no matter how bad she had felt. Tears were running down her daughter's face uncontrollably while she stood a few feet away from the bed. "I'm sorry, Mom," she choked out under sobs. "I am so sorry. I should've been there."

"Liz," Aubrey spoke up softly when she realized what the young woman was doing. "From what we know right now, your mother probably died in her sleep. Even if you had been here, you wouldn't have noticed in time."

She shook her head. "She wasn't feeling well, I should've stayed." Finally, she closed the distance between them, but didn't dare to touch her. She didn't look dead, it looked like she was just sleeping and it could happen any time that she would wake up again. _No, she couldn't lose the only family member she had left – this wasn't possible. _

"There's no one to blame for this, Liz," Aubrey tried, but the girl refused to believe it and shook her head stubbornly.

Silvie walked past her and grabbed Liz' shoulders, forcing her to look at her. "Come on," she said in an insistent voice. Lucy's daughter was in shock and right now she couldn't think straight. With slight pressure she managed to get her out of the room and into the kitchen. "Sit down," she begged, but it was like her words just deflected off of the surface of her skin.

"Liz!" She tried again and finally the younger woman's eyes started to focus on her. "I'm sorry."

_How could life be so unfair?_ First her father had been taken away from her and now someone had taken her mother too? She could feel the anger building in her slowly and before she had a chance to control it, she cried out and slammed her hand on the counter hard. The pain wasn't strong enough to outpace the one in her heart though and with the feeling that her chest would explode from the pressure at any time she sank down to the ground with shaking hands.

Aubrey walked up to Matt in the hallway. "We should probably give her something to calm her down."

The man nodded and went over to their gear, looking around for the meds she had requested.

"I'm gonna stay with her today," Silvie said and tried to push her own hurt aside. She knew Lucy had always wanted the best for her daughter and she would make sure that she knew she wasn't alone now.

Liz didn't listen to the conversation going on, her mind was blank at the moment and she couldn't feel anything. It felt like life was vanishing out of her as well.


	25. Chapter 5B

**Chapter 5B**

"This is bullshit," Kyle exploded and threw the clipboard with a few printed files across the military tent. It hit the fabric quietly and then fell to the ground, kicking up a little dust cloud.

The Commander glanced up from the computer and glared at him before his eyes followed the files he had thrown. "Keep it together, Private Valenti."

"This isn't getting us anywhere! We have two hundred tips about where Ibrahim could be or not and you know as well as me that most of them are ridiculous." Half a day had passed again and they were running in circles without getting anywhere. "The informants don't know anything about his whereabouts and our transmitter just tells us where some stupid cars are that Ibrahim's been seen with. They're spread over the whole fuckin' country."

"Getting impatient won't get us anywhere," Sullivan said and got up to stretch. He walked over to the mobile radio and squeezed the button on the mouth- and ear-piece. "Come in, Alpha team, over."

Crackling could be heard and after a few seconds a male came across along with several disturbing sounds. "Here, Alpha team, over."

"Termination of Operation Desert Eagle. Please confirm."

Kyle bounced his left leg unconsciously while he waited for Sullivan to finish his order for team Alpha. He lifted his eyebrow in surprise when he heard him terminating a different operation because of the situation.

"Terminate Desert Eagle," the voice said through the radio and it was easy to read the surprise in it.

"That's right," the Commander barked. "Confirm termination, over."

"Team Alpha verifies the termination of Desert Eagle. Waiting for new instructions. Over."

Sullivan wiped his eyes tiredly and pressed the button again. "You're meeting with unit ASCT. Coordinates will be sent to your Captain. Confirm, over."

"Meeting with unit ASCT. Understood. Over." Again, there was surprise in the other voice, but the Commander ignored it this time.

"ASCT, over and out."

"You're ordering the Alpha team over here?" Kyle asked, surprised when the Commander threw the mouth piece back on the table in front of him.

"If we find Ibrahim, we'll need help as much as possible."

"Yeah, if," the younger man grumbled and kicked a stone on the ground.

"We will!"

"No, we won't!" Kyle got up from his chair and started to pace. "Not without any help."

"Help?" Sullivan growled and glared at him.

"We should contact Kalil Chalid, if –"

"Chalid is not to be trusted," the Commander dismissed him before he could finish the sentence.

"He's the only one who might know where Ibrahim's hiding Michael," the younger soldier countered back, agitated.

"And no one knows if his information would lead us into an ambush. Last time we trusted that man, it ended in a massacre."

"That wasn't his fault! We put him under pressure to give us information and he warned us SEVERAL times about the uncertain factors."

"And after that he refused to work with us. We almost had him," Sullivan yelled and slammed his fist on the table, making everything on it shake, "and that asshole knew that but kept his knowledge to himself."

"Half of his family was killed in that ambush and after that our troops were removed… we left him alone with a village of dead bodies and havoc – NO ONE would've helped us after what we did." _If his hair was long enough he would pull it out right now,_ Kyle thought, frustrated.

"Chalid is not helping the US Military anymore, Private."

"Maybe not the military," Kyle said calmer and looked at the Commander intensely. "But he would help if he knew Michael is with Ibrahim." He had no doubt it was true. Kalil Chalid may be fed up with the US Army, but Michael and he had formed a friendship. They had saved each other's lives more than once and they had made it clear to him that leaving after the ambush a year back wasn't a choice they had made on their own.

"We can't trust him."

"No, we can," he insisted. "Let me go and talk to him. He's the only one who could give us some worthwhile information."

Sullivan narrowed his eyes to small slits while he stared at the young man. "If he defects, we're screwed."

"He won't! Chalid hates Ibrahim, he won't do anything to help that bastard." Kyle walked up to him, almost nose to nose. "I trust him and so did Guerin."

A hardly visible nod could be seen in the Commander's posture. He knew that his men had spent a lot time with Kalil and if anyone knew him, it was Valenti and Guerin. His information had always been right and a lot more possible to work with than what they had obtained from their other informants. "You have to go alone and you won't share any information other than the few things he would need to know to help us. No slip about our coordinates and I don't want him to be there when we operate."

"Understood," Kyle straightened up and saluted. "Do we know where Kalil is right now?"

"It won't be a problem to find out." Sullivan pointed his index finger at the exit of the tent. "Now get the hell outta here, Valenti. I'll give you the necessary information as soon as we have it."

"M'ria, you should really sleep longer," Tess complained in a tired mumble when she opened her eyes to check the time and detected her friend already dressed and sitting on the window ledge.

"It's already after nine."

"After a party," she pointed out and sat up to rub her eyes. "We used to sleep till noon."

"Sorry, right now I'm happy if I make it through the night with any sleep at all." Another day had passed and there was still no sign from Michael. It was really getting harder and harder to convince herself that everything was okay.

"Are you staying for breakfast?"

"Sure, why not? I like the coffee at your house better than mine anyway."

Tess rolled her eyes. "It's so good to know that you're staying because of the coffee, ya know?" She swung her legs out of her bed and grabbed the dressing grown on the armchair to slip into it.

"Hey," Maria stood and walked up to her friend. "I know it's really no fun to hang out with me right now. I'm just so full of sorrows and it seems like I'm unable to switch them off…"

"M," the curly blonde wrapped her arms around her. "You don't have to apologize for this. I was just teasing, you know that, right?"

"I'm really going crazy."

"I can deal with crazy." Tess pushed her away slightly. "Why don't ya spread some pillows on the ledge and I'll get everything for breakfast? My parents probably still have some visitors here from yesterday, so I think staying here would be a better idea. Unless ya wanna get wrapped up in some political talk already this morning?"

"Ungh, no. I'll wait here then."

"Gimme a few minutes. Maybe I can sneak some croissants as well," Tess winked at her before she left the room.

_Alright,_ Maria thought and grabbed some pillows and the blanket from the bed to place them on the wide window ledge. The weather outside was cold, windy and rainy, so she wasn't looking forward to walking home anyway. Just when she was about to get comfortable there was a knock on the door.

She walked over and opened it, her gaze low since she expected little Daniel on the other side. Her eyes collided with deep blue cloth pants though so her gaze snapped up. "Ed," she said, surprised to see Tess' father in front of her.

"Good morning, Maria," greeted in a warm voice, but there was also something else. Nervousness maybe? "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," she nodded and was about to step aside so he could enter the room but he made a sign for her to follow him.

The weird feeling in her chest increased when they walked down the hallway to the lobby in front of the second entrance to the building. Through the milky glass of the door, she could see a black-coloured car parked, the engine already running. "What's this all about?" she asked, her voice revealing the worry and fear in her.

"Maria," Ed stopped to face her. "You trust me, right?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her intensely.

She nodded dumbly.

"There's a car waiting for you in front of the door. Two men from the Secret Service are going to drive you to your apartment."

"Why?" She frowned, her heart hammering like crazy.

"I can't explain it to you right now," he said gently, but it also didn't leave room for questions. "I want you to pack some things for a few days, maybe a week or two. Clothes, bathroom articles and whatever else you may need. Food isn't necessary."

"This has something to do with Michael, hasn't it?" Her eyes filled with tears as she stared up at him. "Please Ed, you have to tell me."

He sighed and gave her a small nod. "I'll explain everything later, okay? For now I just need you do to what I tell you."

"But what if he gets home and I'm not there?" She started to babble while her mind tried to make sense of the situation. "I can't just leave. Where do I go?"

"Maria, he won't be home anytime soon, okay?" Ed hated to see the hurt in the girl's eyes. She had always been like a member of his own family and he felt the need to protect her like he would protect his own daughter.

"Is he hurt?"

"We don't know."

She frowned and wiped her tears away. "How do you not know?" This had to be a bad dream.

The door was opened from outside and a man in a black suit stepped in, looking at them in question.

Ed turned to her again. "I know you have a lot of questions, but there's no time to answer them now, Maria. Do what I've told you and I'll meet you later. You can trust these men and they won't leave you alone. Don't doubt anything they do and don't make their job any harder, okay?" He gave her a slight gentle push in the direction of the car.

Maria hesitated and glanced back down the hallway. "I need to say goodbye…"

"You need to go, I'll inform my daughter."

With that she was rushed into the car and the door was slammed shut behind her as soon as she was inside. The windows were darkly tinted so it wasn't possible to see anything from outside.

"Miss Deluca," one of the men said, startling her with his voice even though it hadn't been loud. "We need the directions to your apartment."

Maria looked at him as if he was talking to her in a different language and it took several moments before the question registered in her brain. "This way," she pointed down the street and her hand was shaking when she lifted it up.


	26. Chapter 5C

**Chapter 5C**

Alex rubbed his eyes tiredly when he looked into the confused, disappointed and somewhat angry faces of Vice President Richard Mason, Joint Chief of Staff George Cole, and last but not least National Security Advisor Charles Blair. The night had been short and the president had called another meeting in the White House just an hour after they had gotten back to Washington DC.

"We need better information than that to come up with an emergency plan," Blair growled. "A time frame of almost six weeks is ridiculous and what should we do if we don't even know where the damn thing will hit us?"

"IF it hits us, there won't have to be an emergency guide," Alex reminded and placed the files in his hand on the table. "I know the information is squishy and questionable, but it's all we have right now and there's just no way to predict anything when the asteroid is still far away and could be influenced by more things than we could think of." He hadn't been able to give the man much more information than he had at their first meeting. The computer at the White House was definitely the best he had ever used, but the thing couldn't tell him the future either. They had a few more details about the mass and state of the asteroid but that was pretty much it. It was fast, it was huge and it would destroy Earth and everything living on it if there was a direct collision, but it was still too far away to tell what direction it would take. "A very tiny variance of its direction right now would change all of our calculations. It doesn't have a high density so the possibility of a split exists and that would mean not only one but several collisions."

"Several?" Cole barked. "Are you saying this thing could hit us in several different places?"

Alex sighed. The only man who had been at least a bit knowledgeable of the whole topic – the head of NASA Greg Shepherd – had already left the meeting for another appointment. He wished he was still there to support him. "If there is a split," he nodded. "Several smaller asteroids could hit us, leaving damage that we can't imagine right now."

"But at least there would still be an Earth afterwards," Mason threw in.

"Yeah… I guess. The best scenario would be that it changes direction enough to miss us altogether."

"When will we be able to tell more?" the president intervened. He had watched the other men shooting their question at the young man for a while now and he felt kind of sorry for him since he knew Mr. Whitman was doing his best to get the information everyone wanted.

"If it maintains its speed…" Alex thought about it for a while, "maybe around May… or June."

"That's four or five more months," Blair shouted. "We –"

"Charles," the president interrupted and glared at him. "Mr. Whitman is not a visionary."

The other man snorted and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Alex. "We need better information. What're we supposed to do to prepare for this if we don't even know what or where it will happen?"

"Mr. Whitman," Mason leaned forward and rested his hands on the table while he glanced down at the notes Alex had given everyone. "What would you suggest would be necessary precautions we could take?"

"Well," Alex coughed slightly, "based on the fact that we don't know the impact location, my advice would be to build several protection areas spread over the world. Fallout shelters in massive mountains like the Black Hills would be good. Considering the possibility of a nuclear winter or air contamination there should be supplies for at least three months and an air system to pre-process the air would be necessary." He scratched his head while he considered if he should bring up something else. "I'm not sure if you've ever seen the movie 2012? Well, even though it was fiction, there're also a few interesting facts as well. A few hits in the right places and we could be facing massive volcanic activity, which makes life on the continents hardly possible."

"Are you suggesting ships?" Cole asked. He had seen the movie and was convinced it was bullshit.

Alex nodded. "It's a possibility that should be considered."

Blair laughed sarcastically. "Mr. Whitman, we don't live in a fictional world here. This is real and…"

"Mr. Whitman is here for the astrological aspect and not to give us the solution for a possible collision," Philips Evans reminded them all. "We have other specialists for this and I want you to contact them with the newest information," he looked at Charles Blair meaningfully and then went on to give orders to the other men in the room before he ended the meeting and everyone but him and Alex left the room.

"Politics is always turning up with greedy dogs. You've gotta feed them with something," Philip said and squeezed the younger man's shoulder, placing a coffee in front of him.

"I guess that's right," Alex agreed and took the mug thankfully.

"I suppose we've kept you here long enough, Mr. Whitman. You have family here in Washington if I was informed correctly?"

"My parents live here," he agreed with a nod.

"I wanna be honest. I would appreciate it if you would stay in Washington. I want you to continue the research, but I suppose we can't hold you in the White House any longer. There are a few nice apartments here and the government will pay the rent."

Alex wondered if it was really just a suggestion or just a nice way of telling him what he had to do while making it sound like an invitation. "I'll do whatever is necessary as long as I can do my job."

Philip smiled, satisfied. "I knew we could count on you, Mr. Whitman. We'll talk about the details later if you don't mind. I got another video conference with the Secretary of Defence in a few minutes."

"Sure," Alex agreed and knew it was time to get up. He took the mug from the table and said goodbye to the president for now, before he left the office to walk back in the direction of his room.

"Alex," a female voice called when he turned right into another hallway.

He turned around with a smile and came face to face with the president's daughter, who had been very attentive the last days. He still wondered if she was always like that or if she was just curious about his reasons for being here. "Isabel."

"Another boring meeting about politics," she guessed with a smile and glanced into his half empty mug. "And they got you that awful coffee from the machine in the office."

He grinned and looked at the brown liquid. "It's not that bad."

Isabel rolled her eyes. "No need to be polite, I know it's not."

"Alright," he chuckled. "Guess I've had better."

"How about I invite you for a much better one?" she asked and hooked her arm around his.

"Sure. Sounds good." Even though he doubted her motives, she was enjoyable to hang out with.

"Dad," Tess had been bugging her father for hours now, not leaving his side to get some answers out of him. "What'd you do with Maria? Where is she? Why isn't she picking up her phone?"

"Tess," Ed said sharply, his nerves stretched to their limits. "Get off my back now."

"But I just wanna know what happened to my best friend. One minute she's here and the next she just disappeared. I'm worried, Dad," she pleaded.

He sighed and stopped in the hallway to face her, hurting at the worried look on her face and wishing he could just tell her the truth. "She'll be okay."

"You know where she is, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"I do," he admitted. "And you know as well as I do that I can't tell you anything about this. The less you know, the better."

"But…" she started to protest again.

"Don't!"

"I just wanna know if she's okay and why you're hiding her. Is she in any danger?"

Ed bit his inner cheek – as much as it was bothering him to leave her in the dark, it was a necessary step right now.

"And Michael not coming back… this's somehow connected isn't it?" She tried to make sense out of it, but there wasn't really an explanation that came to her mind.

"Leave it alone for now," her father begged and glanced at his watch. He had a video conference with the president soon about the situation in Afghanistan and he needed to hurry to avoid being late. "We have everything under control and you don't have to worry about her."

"I can't just stop worrying."

Ed sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, making her to look at him. "Tessie, everything will be okay with her. I care about her as much as you do and I promise you she's fine."

She really wished his words would help her to relax and even though they didn't she nodded anyway. There was no way she would get out anything of him, but she had to try anyway. "I'll go to my room."

"Okay," he let go of her and watched her leave, her pace lacking its normally light and easygoing manner.

Tess closed her bedroom door behind her once she had reached her room and glanced around. The tray with the untouched breakfast was still sitting on the bed. She walked over to it and broke off a small piece of pancake with her fingers to put it into her mouth. It was long cold and really didn't taste great in a situation like this. What had happened in the twenty minutes she had been in the kitchen? People didn't just disappear!

Her gaze fell on her nightstand and locked on her cell. Without thinking twice she took it and pushed the speed dial button to call Liz. Impatiently she waited for the other girl to pick up and when it went to voicemail she frowned and hung up just to try it again three more times.

When she was about to give it up, her friend finally answered the call. "Hello?"

"Parker, why do you never take your cell with you," Tess started to ramble immediately, run over by her own feelings and too distracted to detect the hint of sadness in her friend's voice. "I really need something to hit right now, I swear! Gosh, E! I am so mad!"

Liz fell back on her bed and stared up to the ceiling, hardly noticing what the other girl was rambling about. It still felt like she was surrounded by a heavy thick cloud, which held her in like a prisoner.

"Something happened to M, but I don't know what it is. One minute she's here with me and then when I come back to bring breakfast, she's gone. Just gone." Tess waved her hand in the air. "Can't reach her on her cell, can't reach her at her apartment and that's so unlike her. I mean, she hasn't let her cell outta her sight for the last week in case Michael calls, right?"

…

Tess frowned, when she couldn't hear an agreement from the other end. "E? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah," it came quietly, but it didn't sound convincing.

"Is everything okay? I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No…. no, you didn't," Liz said thickly and felt the tears shooting to her eyes again, which spilled over in no time.

The sound of her voice finally reached Tess, alarming her, and she straightened up. "What's going on, Liz?"

_Silence._

"Talk to me, Parker!"

"My mom," she finally croaked out and wanted to suppress a sob, but failed.

Tess suddenly felt dizzy and sat down on the bed, before her legs could give out. "What's with your mom?" she asked quietly and fearfully.

Liz suddenly lost control and started to cry badly, unable to say anything.

Just hearing it, it brought tears to Tess' eyes as well. A dark anticipation waited in her mind to be confirmed, but she still waited for her friend to calm down and prove her wrong.

"She… she died," the brunette managed to get out before her throat felt too tight to speak again.

_Gosh, this couldn't happen,_ Tess thought and wiped her tears away, determined to be stronger than this. She got up and looked around to find her bag sitting at the desk next to her computer. "Give me a few minutes, Liz. I'll be there."

She hung up and shoved the cell in her jeans, putting herself on autopilot to just 'operate' in that moment. Both of her friends lives were falling apart overnight and she was determined to pick the pieces up again and put them back together.


	27. Chapter 5D

**Chapter 5D**

Her lungs hurt from the cold air as she took the steps two at time to get to Liz' front door after someone had let her into the building. She had never made it to the other girl's house so fast without her car, but walking had seemed to be the better option when she had seen that the windows of the vehicle where all frozen up.

Tess had to catch her breath when she reached the floor before she was able to knock on the door. This situation still felt so unreal – how could so much happen in only a few hours?

Silvie opened the door, not surprised to see one of Liz's closest friends there. She had expected them to get there soon and she wondered if the other blonde would show up as well. "Hello, Ms Harding," she greeted her since she remembered her name based on her family status.

"Hello," Tess nodded in greeting. "I just talked to Liz and found out what happened. I wanna see if she's okay." She wasn't asking if the other woman would let her in, she HAD to.

"Sure," Silvie opened the door wider and stepped aside to let the girl in. "She's in her room. I've made some tea, maybe you can take it to her?"

"Okay," the curly blonde walked inside with a determined stride and kicked her shoes off in the hallway before she went straight to the kitchen. "How did it happen?" She turned to look at the other woman when she followed her.

"The EMTs couldn't do an exact diagnostic here. They said maybe it was a stroke, maybe a heart attack …" Silvie sobbed slightly and brushed a tear away, "or maybe her heart was just too weak after all the treatments to go on anymore."

Tess swallowed and gripped the counter behind her. "Will they do anything to find it out more clearly?"

"Liz had a patient's provision so it's up to her if they do that or not."

"God," she rasped. _How awful would it to be to have to make a decision like that? Would you really want to know? _

"I think she's blaming herself for not being here even though the EMTs said it wouldn't have made a difference in the end."

Tess nodded. She had already expected that because Liz had always cared about her mother more than herself. "I'm gonna go to her," she said and took the cup of tea from the counter before she walked out of the kitchen towards her friend's room. She knocked on the closed door slightly, but stepped in before she heard an answer.

Her heart broke when she saw the brunette curled up in a ball on her bed, some stuffed animal that she knew her mother had given her when she was little, tightly pressed into her arms. "Hey E," she greeted her in a whisper.

Liz noticed the presence of her friend, but didn't move. It felt like she couldn't, like something was pressing her down on the mattress and made it impossible to move ever again.

"I brought some tea for you," she placed it at the nightstand and sat down on the bed behind her, leaning over slightly to look at her face. "Hey…" Tess reached out to wipe a strand of hair out of her face. She could easily detect the trails of tears and the puffy red eyes.

Liz closed her eyes at the slight touch and took in a shaky breath. The emptiness she could feel inside of her kept her from talking or doing anything. Everything just felt so… dull.

Tess blinked away her own tears and moved up onto the bed fully to lie behind her friend. She wrapped one arm around her and stayed silent for a while, just letting her know that she wasn't alone in that moment. Right now she wished Maria could be here. She would know what to say to get Liz to talk, the other girl was so much better at stuff like this.

"It's not your fault, Liz," she tried after a long silence and squeezed the other girl's hand. "You couldn't be around her 24/7 and you know she wouldn't have wanted that."

The words just passed by Liz without really registering in her head, since her thoughts were on a different topic right now. "I should have worn it," it came from her, hardly audible.

"What'd you say?" Tess lifted her upper body and rested it on one arm while she looked at her. She followed Liz' gaze and saw a green dress hanging from the door of her wall closet. "The dress? Why?"

"My mother bought it for me a while back and last night she wanted me to wear it, but…" she swallowed hard and grimaced as new tears swamped her. "I wanted to keep it for something more important and now she'll never see me wear it."

"Ah, hell, girl," her friend hugged her tightly. "She knew you were saving it for a special occasion. And you will wear it someday. Lucy was proud of you no matter what you did and that never stopped."

She knew that everything her friend and Silvie were telling her were probably true, but that didn't keep her mind away from the horrible thoughts. What it she had been awake when it had happened? What if she had been in pain and cried for help but no one could hear her? Just thinking of it her heart felt like it was being squeezed together in a very tight grip and it made it hard to breathe. "I need to know."

"You need to know?" Tess replied and already had a dark anticipation what this was about.

"I need to know how she died and if she was able to feel anything," Liz suddenly sat up, almost kicking her friend from the bed. "I can't go on if I don't know."

"Okay," the blonde said. If it was something she wanted then she would support her decision, but what if the results said that Lucy actually had felt something or worse, what if came out that it had taken a long painful time? Liz would never forgive herself for leaving that night in this case. She reached over to get the mug from the nightstand and then handed it to her.

"I don't…" Liz started, but knew Tess wouldn't leave her alone until she had drunk the damn tea, so she took it from her, too weak to fight her friend. Her cell buzzed on the nightstand, letting her know she had received another new email.

"Want me to get it?"

"No," she shook her head. Normally, she would have been eager to read it immediately in anticipation that it was William, but right now she didn't even feel strong enough to do that. What could she say in that moment anyway?

Tess leaned back and rested her head on the headboard. She was really on the edge right now as well. Normally Maria would have been here to help out and afterwards they would have talked about it alone for hours, but everything was bottled up in her right now and she hated that feeling. She wanted to talk so bad about what happened to her other friend, but the only one who would understand was Liz and the girl was not in any state to process that information right now. "What about we stay in bed all day, order pizza and watch some movies?"

"I'm not really hungry," Liz said and placed the mug aside to lie down again. "But stayin' in bed sounds good, although I need to go to the hospital this afternoon for some formalities." She feared that moment, but she needed to get over with it as soon as possible.

"I'm coming with you," Tess said, not wanting to leave her friend alone with that. She would try to contact Maria again later, maybe she would be able to answer her calls then?

"How am I supposed to ever go in her room again?" Liz asked and stared at a photo of her mother next to her bed.

"Hey, come here, E," her friend opened her arms and sighed when she gave in, letting her hug her willingly. "That is nothing you need to worry about right now, okay? It's okay to be sad and to grieve for now. Besides, you have friends at your side, remember?" _Hopefully Maria would be back soon._

"Did you tell M?" Liz mumbled quietly. She was almost sure she had, Tess couldn't hold back in moments like this, she had to talk about stuff or she exploded.

Tess bit her lip, what was she supposed to say? Although she wanted to tell her about the Maria drama, this wasn't the right time for it. The last thing Liz needed was to worry about that on top of everything else. "No, thought she's got enough to deal with right now. Ya know… Michael and all."

"Yeah," Liz agreed, although she was a bit surprised. "That's right."

"Why don't ya try to sleep a bit and then we'll go to the hospital."

Max sat down in front of his desk and checked his email again, frowning when there was nothing in his inbox yet. They had been back home for a few hours now and Dad had immediately disappeared for an important meeting, taking their new houseguest with him. He still wondered what this all was about, but was he interested enough to go and find out? _Nope_! _Maybe Isabel would have a clue soon thought, _he thought, amused_. His sister seemed to be interested in the guy._

_Maybe she was still with the girls,_ his gaze wandered back to the screen. Her reply to his last email had had him grinning this morning after waking up and he had asked her to tell him more about the man she had met last night.

_Had fun, huh? _

_How much fun did ya have? ;)_

Now he was eager to get an answer from her. _Would she be honest?_

He got up and paced around his room, stopping to look in the mirror next to the door. Was it wrong to ask her a question like that? Yeah, it probably was, but he couldn't help it. Last night had been the best since his father had become an important politician, but it had left him edgier than usual.

Now more than ever he wanted Liz to know the truth about him now and it was getting harder to resist the urge to just tell her, but there was also a part of him that was afraid he would lose her over the truth.

They had gotten along very well last night and if he wasn't completely wrong, she had also flirted with him, but what would she think when she found out that William and him where the same person and he hadn't let her know that?

Plus, what if that wasn't the problem? What if she didn't want to date him because he was who he was? She had been okay with it last night, but dating him meant publicity and she wasn't the type of girl who would enjoy that.

_Add the distance factor and we have the perfect mess_, he thought in frustration and plopped down on his bed, but was up again when he heard the little sound that announced a new email.

The grin from his lips slipped when he realized it was just an email for the university with yet another stack of homework to do. Ungh! He marked it as unread and left his room to find something to eat. Maybe she would have answered when he came back.

_You sound like a pussy, _he thought_. Walking around your room waiting for an email – that's ridiculous! _But Liz Parker wasn't leaving his thoughts alone no matter how he tried to distract himself and no matter what he did, the hole he had dug himself into was getting deeper and deeper. He had to make a decision soon – and using their new code would be a possibility, but it also meant he would set his money on getting all or nothing out of it.


	28. Chapter 5E

**Chapter 5E**

Maria paced around the room the two suit-wearing bimbos had dumped her into about two hours ago. Her muscles were stiff after an eight-hour drive in the car, she was hungry, cold, confused and lonely, but no one seemed to care.

The windows of the car had been darkly tinted, so it had been hard to see anything at all, but considering the length of the drive and the bit of landscape she had been able to see she was pretty sure she was in Washington DC.

_But why was she here?_ She glanced at her lonely bag sitting on the bed. The room they had taken her to was at a higher level, seventh or eighth floor if she was right. It was large and contained everything necessary for living. There was a couch, an armchair and a flat screen at the center of the room, a high shelf separated the living area from the sleeping area. A huge bed as well as a nightstand and a wall closet could be found on the left side of the room, as well as a door which led to a small bathroom that contained a small tub, toilet and sink. Then on the right side of the room a 9 or 10 foot long counter separated everything else from the kitchen furniture – a few barstools sat there as well.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't home either and the circumstances left her with an uneasy feeling. There wasn't a phone and they had taken her cell from her, so there was no one she could contact. She should have been worried about herself, but all she could think about was, what had happened to Michael? She knew these happenings were somehow connected to him, and the uncertainty was driving her insane. Her mind was coming up with the worst and probably most ridiculous things, but she couldn't stop it.

"What the hell is going on?" she yelled into the room although there was no one with her. She stepped closer to the large window and stared outside, narrowing her eyes when a fire truck rushed down the street across from the building. Yep, she was definitely in DC, but why? And why wasn't she allowed to go outside… or call her Mom? So many questions and she was slowly but surely going insane from them.

"Alright," she took a deep breath and went over to the bed, opening the bag she had packed in a hurry. _Maybe a little bit distraction would help,_ she thought and started to pull her stuff out.

She hadn't just packed clothes and important stuff like Ed had suggested. No, she had also thrown in a good book as well as a framed picture of Michael and her, taken in 2008. They both smiled in it; although she remembered all too well that her smile had been faked that night…

"_Is everything set with the grill?" Tess called for David, who had been busy for the past 30 minutes with it now. _

"_Almost."_

_She rolled her eyes and took a seat across from Maria. "I told them he couldn't do it, but did they listen to me? NO!"_

_Her friend laughed and sipped on the plastic cup filled with punch. "Relax, girl!"_

_All of their classmates had gotten together for one last barbeque in Boston Park. Graduation day was just a few weeks ago and soon a lot of them would leave Boston to spread around the states in different colleges. Although she was excited about it as well – and she would stay in her home town – it was kinda sad to see a lot of friends go. _

"_What? I'm hungry! If Peterson doesn't hurry then I'm heading over to Taco Bell, I swear!" Tess leaned forward to warm her hands over the small fire they had built. _

"_Grill's not going yet, huh?" Michael said as he joined the girls, taking a seat behind Maria to wrap his arms around her. "Hey M," he greeted her quietly with a nudge of his nose against her cheek._

"_Michael, can't ya go over and show him how to do it right?" Tess complained before the couple could be pulled into the snuggling-kissing contest they engaged in at their greetings. They had been together for over a year now – at first she had thought this behavior would pass with time, but it hadn't and she had gotten used to the fact that her best friend and him still behaved like lovebirds at times. _

"_What makes you think I'm willing to grill food for all of you?" He was over a year older than the rest of them and had left high school behind a while ago. _

"_Well, because you love us?" She gestured between her and Maria._

"_Us?" He lifted an eyebrow. _

"_M an' me, we're a package deal. You can't get just one."_

"_Does that count for every part of this relationship?" he asked with a smirk and earned an elbow from his girlfriend._

"_You better shut up before you dig your hole deeper, Guerin," she warned him._

"_Was just asking," he teased and tightened his grip around her for a second before he freed one hand to pull something out of his pocket. "Here Harding, we don't want you to starve." He threw a small bag of chips to her._

"_Okay, now it's official," Tess said and opened it up immediately before she looked at Maria. "I love him too, sorry." She winked at her and shoved a few chips into her mouth. "I'm gonna go tell Peterson to hurry up."_

_Michael watched her leave, glad that he was getting a chance to talk to his girlfriend alone since there was something he needed to tell her. _

"_Tess is being her usual self," Maria sighed with a smile and shook her head._

"_Gotten used to it by now," he chuckled. "Could be worse." Although the other girl was crazy, loud and noisy, he couldn't think of a better friend for his girlfriend. "Where's Parker?"_

"_Visiting her mom in the hospital, but she should be here soon."_

"_How's her mom doin'?" _

"_Some days are better than others," she shrugged. Liz's life had been up and down for a long time now and while she and Tess tried to support her as well as they could, it didn't seem to be enough at times. _

_Maria turned in her seat until she could face him. "How was your day? You met that army guy, right?" _

_The last months hadn't been easy for him at all. He had lost several jobs in that time, but because of his past criminal record it wasn't easy to find something – at least nothing that brought in enough money to survive at the end of the month. Kyle and him had supported the National Guard last summer, they had helped at a few different places that had suffered from devastation from hurricanes. They had both hoped that it might be a steppingstone for something else… maybe in the National Guard or something similar, but nothing had really come out of it._

_Recently Ed had been talking to them and was able to make some arrangement so he and Kyle had started quickly with basic training in the US army, telling them that he had a few things in mind for them if they were willing to work for the army. Michael nodded. "It was okay," he started and looked up at her. "Actually, it might have brought up a possibility."_

"_Yeah?" She smiled. "Cool, what is it?"_

_He almost felt bad about her excitement because while it would probably mean a job that paid well, it had a huge downside as well. "The Commander we met offered us a job if we're able to pass some tests and training."_

"_Oh, I'm sure whatever it is you'll both succeed." Although his high school graduation hadn't been the best, he was smart in a lot of ways and she was positive that he could do almost everything._

"_Yeah…" he agreed and grabbed one of her hands, playing with it absentmindedly. It wasn't so much that he feared failing, but what would she think of the job in general? _

"_Tell me more about it," she said gently. Was he so frustrated about past disappointments that he didn't want to be happy about a possibility already? "Guess the army has a lot of possibilities."_

"_This guy, he watched Kyle an' me a few times while we went though basic and he says he likes what he saw." Michael swallowed. "Pretty sure Ed's behind this as well. They're looking for some guys for a unit. He said he couldn't say much about it because they operate secretly… like Special Forces or something. The tests and training will be hard, but he said he's positive we can do it."_

"_Oh wow," Maria said, not knowing what to think. "Sounds weird. He didn't say what your primary task would be?"_

"_Well, no." He scratched his eyebrow and looked at her directly. "It'd be different stuff, depending on the operation. Dangerous stuff. I'd be away a lot." Sullivan hadn't held back, underlining that the job was anything but fancy, but he didn't want to repeat it all for his girlfriend. "But on the other hand they promised to delete our juvenile criminal records within a year of working for the army and I'd earn enough money for both of us."_

"_You don't…"_

_He pressed his index finger to her lips. "I know you're gonna to say that's not necessary and that you'll work as well. I just mean with your Mom moving out of town you wouldn't have to worry about money during college and we could get an apartment together."_

"_What'd Kyle say?"_

"_He already signed the papers to start the training."_

_Yeah, she had expected that answer. The thought of living together was exciting, but how huge would the sacrifice be? "And you're interested in it too," she stated, pretty sure she was reading his body language right. _

_Michael shrugged. "I'm considering it, but…"_

"_You're holding back because of me." It was easy to figure it out and his slight nod just proved she was right. "Why?"_

"_Why?" He frowned. _

"_Yeah. I mean, if it's what you want to do…"_

"_Getting a job that pays well and deletes my past mistakes sounds good and I'm positive that the army's the right thing for me, but if it means losing you over it then I'll pass. I'm not willing to stitch one hole just to tear another one."_

_Maria grabbed the collar of his jacket with both hands, touched by his words, as she made him face her. "You won't lose me, Michael. This won't be easy and all, but I'm sure we can do this."_

_He reached up to squeeze one of her smaller hands with his. "You sure?" Losing her wasn't an option, but giving up the possibility of this job meant also giving up the chance for a better future as well. How much could he offer her otherwise? A job in an office would be his death. She was about to go to college and he couldn't even find a job that paid enough money for him alone. _

"_We can do this," she repeated and leaned in for a kiss._

Now she didn't know if she had been convinced or if she had just said it to stop his worries.

Would she still agree with the knowledge she had now? Of course Kyle and him had both been able to complete the training successfully. First they had been away for days, and then their trips had lasted for two or three weeks up to a month. For the past year and a half now it was hardly possible to count. Three months, four? Half a year?

She dropped down on the bed, still holding the picture from that night in her hand.

Yes, she _was_ smiling in it, but there had been this black cloud hanging over her, shadowing her mind with fearful expectations and if she was totally honest with herself, she had to admit that since that day the cloud hadn't completely gone away.


	29. Chapter 5F

**Chapter 5F**

"Hey," Tess greeted gently when Liz' head on her chest moved slightly to indicate that she had woken up again. It was shortly after 3pm and she knew the girl needed to go to the hospital for some formalities, but she hadn't wanted to disturb what at least had seemed to be a peaceful sleep.

Liz stayed quiet for a few moments longer, while her eyes just stared holes in the air. For a very short moment she had thought it had all been a bad dream, but as soon as her mind had lost the cloudy comfort of sleep, reality hit her again. "It really happened," she whispered hoarsely. "Oh God," sobs escaped her tight throat while she froze in the same position she had woken in.

"I'm here, Liz," was all Tess could say when the other girl's hurt easily swept over. Her friend's body was tense and shook slightly from the tremors of crying. It was hard to witness and almost impossible to find a way to ease her pain, but she tried at least to calm her down a bit with soft soothing strokes over her back.

It took some time before she calmed down again – just enough to get the strength to sit up and look at the other girl. She was surprised when she found her also crying quietly and leaned over to give her a tight crushing hug. "I need to go to the hospital," she mumbled and released her again.

"I'm coming with you," Tess nodded.

"You sure? It could take forever and…"

"I'm sure," the blonde interrupted her and sat up. "Got no other plans anyway."

"Maybe you should go an' see Maria," Liz suggested. As much as she appreciated that her friend wanted to be there for her, she didn't know what was waiting for her at the hospital and she was used to dealing with her hurt mostly alone.

Tess bit her lip while she weight of her options about telling Liz the truth about their friend or not. Liz was not in a position to take anymore bad news, but on the other hand anything else would be a lie and neither of them would get anything out of that. "There's something I need to tell you E," she started, already hating herself for bringing more hurt into the mix.

Liz frowned, but nodded. There was really nothing she was afraid of now that the worst thing she had always feared had happened.

"Maria kinda disappeared," Tess started, knowing how stupid that sounded. "I mean not really, but my father had her taken somewhere and I don't know why and where."

"Have you tried to call her?" The brunette asked and was almost thankful for the little distraction.

"Yeah, but she's not picking up." Tess bit her lip and tried to come up with some information that made sense. "I don't know what's going on and my father refuses to tell me anything, but it's gotta have something to do with Michael."

"Oh…" Liz said, her mind totally drawing a blank right now, unable to register so much information combined with the hurt and pain she felt.

"Sorry, I don't want to add fuel to the fire, I just didn't want to lie either." Tess got up and used both hands to make her friend look at her. "You don't worry about her, okay? My father promised she's okay and I trust him. Whatever it is, I'm sure they're just taking precautions or something…" A deep sigh left her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to bring her thoughts in an order. "We'll go to the hospital now and you leave the Maria situation to me, alright?"

Liz just nodded dumbly, while her mind was still trying to process everything.

"I'm sorry she can't be here for you, E," Tess said sadly when she looked in her confused, shocked face. "I know M would be much better at the comforting stuff and would know the right things to say to make you feel better, but - "

"No, no," Liz shook her head and hugged her again tightly. "Don't say that, Tess. I'm glad you're here and there isn't a thing anyone could say to make me feel better, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed and they let go of each other again.

"Thanks for coming over. It really means a lot to me." There wasn't a situation in her life she could remember where she had felt closer to Tess than now. Even though they had been friends for so long now, it had always been more Maria's part to be the glue between her and Tess while the role of the girl in front of her had been the funny and sometimes annoying one. Now suddenly roles seemed to be reversed and she found proof that there was much more to Tess than she usually showed them.

"Let's get done with the hospital thing first and then we'll decide what comes next, okay?" Tess said and wiped her tears away.

"Okay," Liz breathed deeply and for the first time since that morning she felt a bit of strength creeping back into her body.

Maria woke from her slight doze when she heard a sound. She sat up immediately, not aware that the framed photo of her and Michael was still lying on her chest. It crashed to the floor violently, glass front facedown. "No," she muttered when it made a sound like glass breaking and reached down to lift it up again.

Her eyes watered when there was large crack across the picture, exactly between her and Michael's faces. With the fingertips of her right hand she drove over his image as if she could really take comfort from it. Although her mind told her that it was totally ridiculous, she couldn't help but think it was kind of a bad omen and maybe she'd never see him again.

"FUCK," she screamed and threw the picture across the room until it hit the wall hard and crashed to the floor, the glass pieces now spread over the tiles. Her sadness suddenly transformed to anger over the situation she was in. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she repeated again and shot up to wander around the apartment. "Can somebody finally tell me what the hell is going on?" Tears streamed down her face, but she ignored them in favour of letting out her frustration. "Fuck this," she swiped down a basket with fresh fruits someone obviously had set up for her earlier. It rattled to the flagged floor loudly, the apples and kiwis rolling over the tiles in all directions.

"Stick your damn things up your ass," her voice sounded broken but there was no one who would've cared about it. She grabbed the magazines on the kitchen counter and threw them at the window, half relieved and half disappointed when they didn't make it break.

That had to be the point where she went crazy and got locked up in a padded cell with a straitjacket, she thought, frustrated when her gaze lowered to the broken frame on the ground in front of her. As quick as the furious anger had appeared it was now gone and replaced with misery again. The heavy beating heart in her chest clenched and hurt as she sank down to the ground to peel the photograph out of the broken fragments. Blood dropped to the white flag when she cut herself on a small piece of glass, but she ignored it and leaned her back against the wall, photo clutched to her chest while waves of sobs shock her body violently.

Ed Harding stood in the open door of the apartment and wished he would've been anywhere else instead of having to witness the breakdown of a girl he cared about almost as much as his own daughter. The painful cries from across the room got through the hard shell he had built because of his job and went straight to his heart. He closed the door and went across the room with large steps, placing the little paper bag with takeout food on the counter before he crouched down in front of the girl.

"Maria," he started to speak to her gently because she hadn't even realized his presence yet. "Hey, girl, look at me."

She barely registered that someone was talking to her and lifted her head slightly to look around. Someone was crouched down in front of her, but she had to blink several times before her blurry gaze cleared again.

Ed swallowed the lump in his throat when he looked into the devastated face of the young woman in front of him. "Have you hurt yourself?" He reached out to take her hand when he saw the blood drops on the ground and was relieved when it was only a superficial cut from to the broken pieces around her.

"'s nothin'," she mumbled and threw herself into his arms when he looked at her wounded finger.

"Hey…" he said, surprised and struggled to stay on his feet when the move nearly toppled him. Carefully he sat down on the floor next to her and held her tightly while she cried again.

Maria clung to his shirt with two fisted hands while she allowed the hurt and fear to override everything else. After a week of hoping and worrying about her boyfriend, she couldn't find any strength left to stop it.

"I'm sorry," he told her and rocked her back and forth. "I am really, really sorry."

Her head suddenly snapped up when his words sank in. "You're sorry? About what?" she asked fearfully. Was Michael gone? Had they brought her here to tell her that? Or worse, did she have to identify him? "Is he…." No, she couldn't say it.

"No, he's not," Ed rushed to tell her when he realized where her mind had gone. "He's alive, Maria." At least everyone hoped he was.

A little bit of relief flooded her body and her hands on his shirt relaxed. "Why isn't he home then? He told me he'd be home, so something has to be wrong. Michael would never have told me he'd be home if he hadn't already been on his way."

He looked down at her while he tried to decide how much information he should give her. Originally he had planned to tell her only a little, but lying to her now would mean she might distrust him later and that would be bad in case the worst case scenario happened. "He was on his way home," he started with a calm tone. "His convoy was attacked though."

"Attacked?" Her eyes went over his face, seeking more answers. "Is he hurt?"

"We can't tell for sure," he answered honestly.

"You can't tell?" She sat up. "How can you not tell if he's…"

"The people who attacked us kidnapped him, Maria." Ed hated to have to tell her the news and he wished there was anything he could add that would give her hope, but sadly they were running around in circles right now.

"Kidnapped," she repeated breathlessly. "What now? Is the kidnapper demanding something? Money maybe?"

"No…" he shook his head.

"No…" Maria frowned.

Ed sighed and massaged his forehead with one hand. "The people who have him aren't interested in getting anything from us."

"What's their motive for taking him then?"

"Revenge probably… we don't know for sure."

"Which country was he in?"

For a moment he wanted to keep that from her, but the reminder that the case also involved her personally made him rethink that. "Afghanistan."

There was silence for some long moments before she lifted her head again. "Terrorists," Maria whispered fearfully. It was the only thing that made sense why someone would kidnap him without making a demand.

Ed nodded wordlessly.

"Oh God…" her voice trembled while the information sank in. "What are you doing to get him outta there?"

"We're doing everything possible to find him right now, but…."

"Find him?" she interrupted him with a frown. "You don't know where they're hiding him?"

"No, not yet," he admitted.

"But you said he's alive," she accused. "How do you know?" Maria searched his eyes for the answer and saw the helplessness there. She swallowed hard. "You don't really know, do you?"

"We don't have proof," he admitted and went on before she could break down again, "but we're pretty positive that he's alive, Maria."

"What makes you think that?" It hurt so badly to know what Michael's been through – that he was maybe hurt and alone somewhere and she knew he was blaming himself for telling her he would be home.

Ed cleared his throat, preparing to tell her the last bit she didn't know yet. "The reason why you're here, Maria, is that we have reason to believe the people who have him are looking for you."

Maria's eyes widened in shook. "For me? Why?"

"To torture him probably." It was the ugly truth and he hated to have to tell her that. "But at least this way we're positive he's alive. There would be no reason for them to look for you if he wasn't alive."

"This's a nightmare," she cried harder again, because she knew it would work. If someone was threatening him about going after her… Gosh, she couldn't even think how he must feel about that.

"Maria," Ed mumbled and hugged her again, "we'll do everything to protect you. This building is the best guarded in DC."

"I'm not worried about me," she shook her head. "What if I deliver myself to them? You could implant me with a transmitter or whatever and find us that way."

Although he admired her bravery, he damned this strictly. "These men don't make compromises so you forget that thought, do you hear me?"

"You need to find him, Ed! He doesn't deserve this." _No, not Michael,_ she pleaded silently.

"We have our best men looking for him. We will find him," he told her determinedly, but wondered if he was just trying to convince himself. "The fact that they were looking for you allowed us to mobilize our troops there, so in a twisted way you could be his lucky charm." He grabbed both of her upper arms to force her to look at him. "We have good reason to hope that we will get him outta there, okay?" Ed stared at her, trying to find something in her face that showed him she believed what he had said. "Okay?" he asked, louder this time.

Maria nodded slowly. "Okay."


	30. Chapter 5G

**Chapter 5G**

"I'm in the living room if you need me," Silvie glanced at Liz, trying to decipher the younger girl's mood. It had been late when she had gotten back from the hospital and she hadn't so much as said a word about it.

"You really don't have to stay, you know…" Liz told her. She was thankful that her mother's best friend wanted to keep her company in the apartment, but she didn't want her to feel like she had to stay.

"I know, but I will anyway."

"Alright. I'll be in my room," the brunette said and went through the hallway silently. She stopped at her mother's bedroom and looked at the closed door sadly. It almost felt like she was still there and just sleeping. The air still smelled like her favourite perfume and there were leftovers of the cake in the refrigerator she had baked a few days ago.

How much would she give for another hour with her! There were so many things left unsaid and now there was no chance to say them anymore. "I love you, Mom," she whispered and hadn't even realized she had taken a few steps forward to the door. Her hand lay on the door when she blinked and suddenly became aware of what she was about to do. Shocked, Liz flinched, pulling her hand back as if she had burned it and ran the other way to her room, slamming the door shut and resting her back against it, breathing heavily.

"I can't do this," she told herself and shook her head. There was no way she could take a step into her Mom's room ever again – where everything would still feel like she wasn't gone… everything reminded her about her. It was just too cruel.

The beeping sound of her cell brought her back to reality and she walked over to check the message she had just gotten.

_**Just one word and I'll come over, you know that right? Or you could come to me and stay overnight?**_

Liz smiled sadly as she read the text from Tess. She had been supportive during the long time they had spent with waiting and filling out paperwork in the hospital. Although a lot of people had advised her against a more exact analysis of her mother's death, her friend had stuck by her side and told the doctors that it was her right to know about it.

"We can't guarantee we'll find out anything at all, Miss Parker. And please consider that a more exact reason could also make you feel worse in the end," one of the doctors in the morgue had said.

"We know that, but my friend has made up her mind so please respect her wishes, okay?" Tess had told him back in her own way when people started to get on her nerves going over the same things again and again.

_**I know you just wanna help, but I need a little time alone,**_ Liz wrote back and sat down on her bed. _**Thanks for being there today. Hugs.**_

She fell back on the mattress and stared up on the screen until the small letter there flew away, indicating that her message was sent. Her eyes landed on the little blinking sign on the upper left side of the illuminated display and she sighed loudly. All day she had put off answering him and she knew it wasn't fair to just ignore his messages any longer. She should at least give him something so he wouldn't continue to ask questions.

Pulling herself together for what she told herself was the last time today she got up again and sat down in front of her desk, turning the computer on.

Her mind wandered back to last night while she waited for the computer to start. She remembered saying goodbye to her mother before the party, she remembered her words convincing her to go out and have fun. If she only had known that it was the last time she would get the chance to talk to her. It had been obvious that the older woman hadn't felt well considering the pale weak look in her face, but yet she had let her talk her into going to the stupid party. Why? Why had she listened this time of all times?

Another thought entered her mind and made her heart hurt in pain. What if her Mom had known or felt it would be her last night? They say that sometimes people just know, right? Had her mother wanted to protect her by convincing her to go to the party?

"You won't get an answer to this," Liz told herself firmly and hammered her fisted hand against her forehead to get rid of the thoughts. She was thankful when a few beeping sounds in a row brought her focus to the computer and she reached out to open up the first message from William.

_**Had fun, huh?**_

_**How much fun did ya have? )**_

Liz smiled sadly when she remembered the last night and her little encounter with the President's son. He had been a nice distraction for a while.

_Yeah, while your mother was dying at home_, her conscience haunted her, but she tried to shake it off again and opened up William's next messages.__

_**3:04pm: No answer? Have I been replaced? So soon? ;)**_

_**6:12pm: Everything okay? **_

_**7:55pm: Sorry, I know I'm probably getting on your nerves, but I'm a bit worried since I can't remember a single day you didn't at least answer my message within a few hours. You're probably just hanging out with the girls… Promise I won't spam your inbox any longer until I hear from you.**_

Yeah, was he definitely worried and it really didn't surprise her because she had never ever ignored a message from him for so long before. She had to answer something; it wasn't fair to leave him in the dark.

Slowly she brought the cursor over the button to open up a new message and stared at the blank white screen for a moment before she bought herself to write.

_**Hi William!**_

_**Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you waiting, but something happened today and I'm still trying to realize it. My Mom died and**_

Her fingers hesitated over the keyboard and she looked up to check what she had written. Should she really tell him all of this when she knew she wouldn't be online a lot in the next days? Telling him the truth would leave him worried and he would probably answer with more questions in his mail… questions she wasn't ready to answer yet. Reluctantly she deleted almost everything again and started new.

_**Hi William!**_

_**Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you waiting, but a few things came up today that I need to take care of. I won't be online much within the next days so don't be surprised if ya don't get another answer from me soon. Please don't worry, I'll explain soon.**_

_**Hugs, Liz.**_

She felt bad for lying to him even through it wasn't a complete lie. Her answer wouldn't be satisfying, but hopefully it would keep him from asking too many questions and would also give her the time to deal with everything in real life.

Hesitating for a moment while she read over everything again, she nodded and hit the send button before turning the computer off and dragging herself to bed.

A slight feeling of guilt washed over her when her gaze locked on a photograph of Maria and her on the opposite wall. All afternoon she hadn't even thought about her friend and the misery she was in. "Forgive me, M," Liz mumbled quietly and rested her cheek against the pillow.

Kyle shot up from his cot when he saw the outline of another person in his tent, his hand immediately grabbing the weapon under his right side. Sleeping with a submachine gun had become a common thing around the soldiers in his unit, a habit you quickly adopted after getting attacked in the middle of the night.

"Easy, Private," Sullivan said to calm the young soldier down before he could do something dumb just because he thought he was the enemy.

"You shouldn't just sneak around like that, Commander," he said tiredly and swung his legs down to the ground to sit up. When was the last time he had been able to sleep a night through, he wondered. Sleep out here was always light and you stayed on some kind of alert, but the last nights had been extremely exhausting.

"We found Chalid," the older man said in a quiet tone so he wouldn't wake up the other soldiers sleeping in the same tent. He crouched down in front of him and placed what looked like a map in his hand.

Kyle leaned forward to grab the flashlight from his pack next to his bed and switched it on. He glanced over the map several moments before he lifted his head. "Sangar?" He grimaced. "I hate that big fuckin' country, that's a 7-hour drive through the mountains." _Damn it, couldn't the guy be any closer?_

"Be glad it's not Heart," Sullivan gave him an encouraging smack on the shoulder and pointed outside. "I've got a driver and a jeep. Not armoured though, it was the only vehicle I could get without drawing too much attention to us."

"Hell, who needs armoured right?" The soldier tried to make a joke. "Guerin sat in a freaking double armoured hummer and what good did it do him in the end?" He shook his head and got up to collect his stuff.

The Commander waited until he was ready and then followed him outside into the clear cold night, their heavy boots making cracking sounds on the stony ground. "Remember what I said, Valenti," he reminded him when they stopped at the jeep. "You tell Chalid only what he needs to know and we operate alone."

Kyle opened the door to throw his stuff in before he turned to look at Sullivan again. "Understood," he said shortly with a nod. The full moon illuminated his superior's face and made him look a lot older than he probably was.

"We have a safe connection from Sangar, address is written down on the back of the map. Do not use the radio, unless you really need to. Team Alpha will meet with us here at 8:00 this morning, so we're ready to kick that bastard's as whenever we need to be."

"Let's hope Chalid has something for us and we don't get there too late."

Sullivan agreed with a grunt, knowing that with each passing hour the survival chances of his Corporal sank dramatically. "Get in the jeep and don't make me lose another man, Valenti."

Kyle just snorted and climbed into the vehicle. "Do you have any information about his girlfriend?"

"Far as I know, she's been taken to a safe place and guarded 24/7."

He nodded, satisfied that Maria was safe for now. It was the least they could do for Michael. "Let's get going," Kyle told the driver and closed the passenger's door, saluting at his Commander when they took off.


End file.
